ZippyRulz

Only 100 days until kickoff and still no Akron game thread on SoonerFans.com http://www.soonerfans.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?2-Sooner-Football

http://www.the-daily-record.com/local%20news/2015/05/29/gojo-expanding-manufacturing-and-distribution-in-former-rubbermaid-building Good for GOJO and Wayne Co.

Bacteria? Sounds scary. There ought to be an opportunity for a polymer component in concrete to keep it intact. Let's get on it, Ohio Polytech !

Aha, that's why it took so long....he was holding out to sign with the champs.

Polytechnic is a difficult term to define, said Phil Bailey, acting provost for California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo in California, and no one agrees on the same description. Polytechnic schools provide a mindset instead of just a skill set, Bailey said. He drew a comparison to the chemistry lab courses he’s taught on his campus for the past four decades. “The purpose isn’t to teach how to use instrumentation, it’s to teach how to use instrumentation in an intellectual way,” he told the Herald. “It’s about problem-solving.” And it has been a great marketing tool, he said. The largely undergraduate university has no football team but offers numerous research opportunities, with more than half of Cal Poly San Louis Obispo’s research papers having undergraduate authors. More than 55,000 students apply to the school each year for one of 4,000 slots. “We’re in a 23-campus system. We stand out because we’re polytechnic,” Bailey said. Read more here: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2015/05/23/3575307_in-seeking-students-wsu-tri-cities.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

In seeking students, WSU Tri-Cities looks to add ‘polytechnic’ to its repertoire http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2015/05/23/3575307_in-seeking-students-wsu-tri-cities.html?rh=1 The University of Akron in Ohio also recently undertook a similar initiative, rebranding itself as “Ohio’s Polytechnic University” in a speech by the university’s president. “Career-focused. Connected to industry. Experiential. Technology-infused. In both the sciences and the arts. It is what some have called the merger of the practical arts and the liberal arts,” Scott Scarborough said in a speech to the City Club of Cleveland. Akron has struggled with enrollment in recent years. Increased competition for students and resources was part of the drive for the university’s new approach, Scarborough said. The move was criticized by many alumni and Akron students, and some noted that it would potentially sever their ability to continue at the university. “I saved for my son's education for 15 years. I wanted him to be a U of A graduate, not Ohio Polytechnic. He's a political science major — explain how that fits,” one woman commented on a post about the changes on the University of Akron Facebook page.

http://gozips.com/sports/msoc/2015-16/releases/20150521s3tiu3 "I look at this trip as a remarkable point for our Akron Soccer Program, and I am confident that I will be writing to you guys in December celebrating the National Championship." "I love being an Akron warrior." -Victor Souto

http://www.uakron.edu/bot/board-memos.dot?folderPath=/bot/docs/2015/ Link to the BOT meeting minutes In case anyone is interested in following their actions.

http://www.ttu.edu/majors-and-colleges/undergraduate-majors/ Here are the majors at Texas "Tech", including Advertising, Anthropology, Apparel Design, Art, Dance, Journalism, etc.

I just wanna know...is my A-Roo merchandise going to become valuable collectibles any time soon?

After the University of Wisconsin- Stout adopted the polytechnic designation in 2007, it attracted more students (up 12 percent), more top freshmen (up 50 percent) and greater prestige (from unranked to No. 17 on U.S. News & World Report’s top public Midwest schools list). The University of Akron needs to do the same. http://www.uakron.edu/polytechnic/docs/UofA_polytech_trifold5_5newphoto.pdf

http://www.hudl.com/athlete/4172107/highlights/204018377/v2

http://www.uakron.edu/im/news/ua-president-to-deliver-policy-speech-at-historic-venue Contains links to live broadcast at 12:30p. #ZipsOnTheMove

A further indication that we are "committed" http://www.uakron.edu/im/news/national-center-for-choreography-to-launch-in-akron UA President Scott L. Scarborough has committed the university to preparing students for the working world through career-focused, experiential learning. #ZipsOnTheMove

There ya go, a "tech" grad with mad linguistic and history skills!

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/profiles/zach-dorazio?id=2552640 Zach, come back!

The Florida Poly example scares me because they are STEM-only. VT on the other hand is much more comprehensive: http://www.admiss.vt.edu/available-majors/ I don't think Va. Tech liberal arts majors suffer from having gone to a "tech" school because the overall quality and brand is very good and I would have no problem with emulating them. Can the non-tech majors be made more career-oriented? Probably. But distinguishing our brand ultimately comes down to money...upgrading faculty and educational resources drives the quality of students, available programming, research & IP, etc.

At which point we become conflated with OU, which I'm sure would not make either party very happy. Either that or people will think we are an arm of Tosu. And Chrissie Hynde could then write a song about "my university was gone".

Thanks for the report, Balsy. I actually like it in the sense that it doesn't seem to water down or eliminate any of our strengths, while increasing our focus and identity and allying us to some extent with strong polytechnic institutions in other states. I would just hope that being "career-oriented" doesn't conflict with our strength in basic research, innovations and generation of intellectual property. Interesting to note it steers clear of the word 'Institute'. And may I be the first to say: Greetings, UA-OPU fans!

I think they're using the wrong word. This is setting up as more of a "refocusing" of the "type" of university we will (want to) be, not just marketing gimmicks. I agree that Va. Tech is a model for us: Polytechnic Institute (strong science & engineering) + state university (liberal arts, fine arts, education, business, law, etc.).

http://www.ohio.com/news/local/university-of-akron-students-already-taking-sides-on-rebranding-school-1.589755 So the rebranding is a done deal, apparently. Details to be announced next Friday.

bump

Dennis Mitchell could probably double his salary at another school. So glad to have him here. http://gozips.com/sports/track/2014-15/releases/201505021l3r02

Name change or not, the focus is on "repositioning", whatever that entails. “It’s great to see such passion for our University. We are focusing on a repositioning now, not specifically on a name change,” Scarborough wrote. http://buchtelite.com/27123/news/upcoming-campus-protest-against-ua-name-change/