University of Tulsa

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

Can you give us any examples?

Not offering 196 degrees at a university of 4,400 students. Rice University, for example, offers around 50 undergraduate programs and about as many post-graduate which lines up with TU's new total of 112. 196 is far more than other private institutions with the same number of students.

Also, consolidating departments is something quite a few have done to help standardize a lot of the admin stuff and save on costs. Rice has 6 main divisions vs the 25 department TU had previously (going down to 8 "divisions").

[SXSW]

Rice is a good university to use as a model.  I would like to see TU eventually get closer to their total enrollment which is around 7,000 with ~4,000 undergraduates and ~3,000 grad students.

[DTowner]

I haven't reviewed TU's plan sufficiently to comment on it substantively, but the reality is most universities are going to have to modify their operations to align their cost structure with their revenue streams.  Tenured faculty, department heads and administrators represent a lot of fixed costs.  The Tulsa World article mentioned this, but the number of graduating high school seniors is already dropping in some states and in a few years will be true in nearly every state.  It is simple demographic reality that colleges are and will be fighting over a shrinking pool of potential students.  That is why, as much as I would love to see TU grow, that will be an enormous challenge. In the next decade, for many colleges simply surviving will be an enormous challenge.

[BKDotCom]

National Review:  Trouble at the University of Tulsa

The liberal arts are being pushed aside in favor of recruiting first-generation students and offering them occupational training programs — but as Howland observes, few such students could possibly afford the tuition. Leftist ideology is seeping into every corner of the university: a Diversity Action Plan, mandatory training to combat "unconscious bias," and other progressive goodies. A revealing instance of the mindset in control of Tulsa is that during the Kavanaugh hearings, President Gerard Clancy felt the need to send around a campus-wide letter to comfort students, telling them that they need not worry about their "safety and acceptance" at the university.

[buffalodan]

National Review:  Trouble at the University of Tulsa

That man seems like he has a bone to pick with TU before this came out even. Like he had a rant ready to go and just added this one to it.

[DowntownDan]

That man seems like he has a bone to pick with TU before this came out even. Like he had a rant ready to go and just added this one to it.

It's the National Review. They can copy and paste the same article subbing in the name of the next school that dares promote diversity and social justice.

[heironymouspasparagus]

^Exactly. The reason I don't have my masters in Civil is because I would have had to drive to Stillwater multiple times a week to take classes. Surprising that no university in the Tulsa metro offers any kind of civil engineering coursework. I know all the civil firms around here have been scrambling to find people for the last few years.

A lot of the reaction to this announcement seems to be a battle of perspectives. People need to adjust their idea of what an "elite" university is for the modern age. The University of Wisconsin produces more top CEOs than any other university in the world for a reason. It doesn't take a person long to figure out that a lot of these fancy Ivy League graduates are full of hot air and their parent's money.

I don't know all the details about how well this is being implemented, but I'm glad they are taking steps now before they are forced to later.

If you can get some flexibility in local work schedule, BOB could help you with the commute to Stillwater.  Take all the classes on MWF or TW.  It's tough, but possible. (I did it for 4 semesters.  I bet it is even easier today given the efforts they are making in that direction.)

I know a local Civil and he has had fits trying to find something local.  Has been in OKC a lot lately.  Probably too old, 'too experienced', and too expensive.


Side note - there are only two* kinds of engineers.  Electrical.  Mechanical.  Everything else is a subset of those two and derives from parsing topics.  


*I do grudgingly admit upon occasion that Chemical Engineering could be considered a third type in certain circumstances.  Maybe.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Rice is a good university to use as a model.  I would like to see TU eventually get closer to their total enrollment which is around 7,000 with ~4,000 undergraduates and ~3,000 grad students.

All it would take for TU is to break loose a little more endowment money and get tuition down.  And build up STEM course offerings....

[TheArtist]

Did anyone read this that was referred to in the National Review article?  https://www.city-journal.org/university-of-tulsa

Wasn't sure what to make of it. Seemed the guy didn't lay out many real facts but packed it with lots of innuendo.

[BKDotCom]

Did anyone read this that was referred to in the National Review article?  https://www.city-journal.org/university-of-tulsa

Wasn't sure what to make of it. Seemed the guy didn't lay out many real facts but packed it with lots of innuendo.

yikes, dem comments are toxic

[heironymouspasparagus]

Did anyone read this that was referred to in the National Review article?  https://www.city-journal.org/university-of-tulsa

Wasn't sure what to make of it. Seemed the guy didn't lay out many real facts but packed it with lots of innuendo.

Sad.  Very, very sad.  This is very much what an outside 'view' of things going on there has made me think was happening.

I got onto TU web site and looked around some (Electrical Engineering of course...) and it was a very sad place to be.  Doug and Ashenayi are great guys as is Andy, but the "critical mass" needed for a comprehensive Engineering program appears to be on shaky ground - too few resources!

https://engineering.utulsa.edu/tu-power-lab/

I have had interns from the EE dept several times in the last 15 years.  These kids are SCARY smart and are doing some very cool stuff after graduation!!   Outside of Oklahoma.  (Something just isn't happening here in this state that we want to happen very badly.)

[Oil Capital]

New President for TU.

https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/education/empowering-leader-and-public-servant-brad-carson-former-congressman-named-new-tu-president/article_9c12899a-9631-11eb-842a-8ff293e8eaa9.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1

[tulsabug]

New President for TU.

https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/education/empowering-leader-and-public-servant-brad-carson-former-congressman-named-new-tu-president/article_9c12899a-9631-11eb-842a-8ff293e8eaa9.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1

I think Brads a great choice for TU but I would prefer he run for mayor.

[SXSW]

Hopefully he has a growth mindset and positions TU to be more of an economic generator.  A larger TU is a great anchor for midtown.

[LandArchPoke]

I think Brads a great choice for TU but I would prefer he run for mayor.

Given the way the mayor elections are set up, GT will be mayor until he decides he doesn't want to be mayor. I'd imagine once Inhofe ever retires or dies that GT will make a run at that seat. Supposedly Inhofe was supposed to retire this last go around and didn't. GT had been building out his staff to make a run whether he will openly admit to it or not.

My biggest hope for TU is that they will redevelop the southern portion of campus at some point along Route 66. Between them and Hillcrest they're two of the biggest frontage owners along Route 66 in this area. They could have a really outsized influence on the corridor. Those dorms I'm sure are getting aged and aren't exactly the 'it' kind of student housing they used to be. Redeveloping those into more mixed-use style housing with retail (like this: https://uscvillage.com/   or   https://uscvillage.com/maps-and-parking/ ) along with the parking lots around the arena at 11th & Harvard. If they want to be able to recruit talent to the university, that would be a great start by kick starting development around the campus so it feels more like a real community versus being walled off.