UA rebranding

[a-zip]

If I'm not mistaken, you were a huge Tressel fan boy when the process was going on. I like the idea of moving UA from the left to the right side of the napkin, but love how every single other public regional president called him out on his bullshit.

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/05/university_presidents_say_university_of_akron_president_was_wrong_to_question_the_future_of_their_schools.html

Dave, don't get caught up in whether you were a Tressel fan or not ; - P

The point point is whether this move makes sense or not and it does for so many reasons.

WHAT DID YOU ALL THINK THE OTHER SCHOOLS THAT WE ARE COMPETING AGAINST WERE GOING TO SAY!!

[a-zip]

BOOM!!

"My colleagues have identified many of the contributions and strengths that northeast Ohio public universities provide by offering high quality educational opportunities for the many, not just for the selective few. I also agree that the benefits of cooperation among our universities yield great benefits for the region, and I look forward to expanding those ventures. The future of higher education will require each of our universities to adapt in ways that are unique to their individual institutional missions and historical strengths. There is strength in diversity, and Northeast Ohio will be best served by colleges and universities that choose to be great in different ways. Our path is as a great polytechnic university."

[scottditzen]

Son of Scar showing his ignorance. He probably just thinks "any school that would hire my dad obviously sucks."

I think this whole thing takes an even more damaging turn when the ABJ makes a front page story about the backlash from students/alums, and posts pictures of Tweets from the son of the President, who resides in Texas, arguing with UA alums/students on social media in defense of his dad. His son even included a reference to the new name that was to become "Ohio Tech", if an official name change was going to happen. Wonderful.

The unfortunate conclusion to all of this, whether we want it or not, is that "Akron is a Tech School" or "Akron wants to be a Tech School" will be the narrative for many years to come.

[Spin]

WHAT DID YOU ALL THINK THE OTHER SCHOOLS THAT WE ARE COMPETING AGAINST WERE GOING TO SAY!!

I thought they would be insulted. I was right.

On your next message, all just more backpedaling.

I'm almost done. I owe the U nothing. I'm an active alum because I liked being a part of it. I had pride in it. That can change.

[Dave in Green]

Dave, don't get caught up in whether you were a Tressel fan or not ; - P ...

I'm not. I like your focus on the issues as opposed to trying to pin labels on people. Never get discouraged.

[LZIp]

You are mistaken.

History disagrees.

People need to be where they're appreciated, and it's evident that UA didn't appreciate Jim Tressel. YSU does, and he will feel welcome there and do a good job. If UA prefers Scott Scarborough, then I'm willing to give him a chance to prove himself. It will be interesting to track this over the coming years and see how UA does relative to YSU.

Now it's reality check time. The anti-Tressel forces got their wish and the anti-Tressel candidate won. But the anti-Tressel voices on ZN.o never really made a case for Scott Scarborough. It was more like a modern political election where everyone just slings mud at their opponent. In fact, some of the strongest anti-Tressel forces on ZN.o lamented how weak the candidates were, and suggested UA deliberately went after weak candidates to ensure Tressel would win -- not exactly a compelling case for generating excitement about Dr. Scarborough.

When the three finalists were announced, I did a lot of internet searching to see what I could learn about the other two. I didn't find anything I would consider to be exceptional about Dr. Scarborough's accomplishments. I mentioned in a previous post that two consistent trends associated with his professional career have been cost-cutting and privatization of higher education. His sudden suspension and quick departure from DePaul University obviously raise a red flag. But the details were kept secret, so it's hard to judge exactly what went wrong there.

Unlike Dr. Proenza, it's hard to find a lot of love for Dr. Scarborough at Toledo. The Arts & Sciences College Forum, "UT's officially disapproved information source" where "criticisms of administrators are commonplace" offers many negative rants about Dr. Scarborough's performance there. So while I'm hoping for the best for UA, I'd feel better if someone could come up with some positives about Dr. Scarborough's past performance that would encourage optimism about UA's near future. As I said in my last post, I'm willing to give him a chance to prove himself. But I'd add that I'm not willing to give him a free pass just because he has a doctorate and his last name isn't Tressel.

As I said earlier, people need to be where they're appreciated. Regardless of what the UA Trustees may have thought of Jim Tressel, apparently the professors and students prefer Dr. Scarborough. At YSU, JT apparently has support from the professors, students and management. He was really smart to withdraw his name at UA and take the job at YSU, where he can do his job without having to waste time on internal conflict.

So I will continue to research Dr. Scarborough's background and report here what I find in the public records. I sincerely want him to make me forget that I ever considered Jim Tressel to be a viable option for UA. But no one gets a free pass from me. Respect has to be earned.

[Dave in Green]

History disagrees.

Those few selective quotes define a "fan boy?" I may have gotten my education at a polytechnic university, but I learned enough about the English language to know what ain't right. After you've done your own search on the definition of "fan boy," you might want to read this before randomly tossing that term around again on this forum.

[LZIp]

Those few selective quotes define a "fan boy?" I may have gotten my education at a polytechnic university, but I learned enough about the English language to know what ain't right. After you've done your own search on the definition of "fan boy," you might want to read this before randomly tossing that term around again on this forum.

Fact: You were in favor of Tressel being selected over Scarborough (nothing wrong with that), but now that Scarborough is President, his opinion is somehow better and more informed than Tressel's, at least that what I take from your post asking if anyone valued Tressel's opinion over Scottie's followed by the " ". I was just pointing out the hypocrisy in that the person you were for before is now all of the sudden wrong, and the person you couldnt find anything good about is now all of the sudden right

If you want to debate the meaning of "fan boy", so be it. It was hardly the point of the post, but the definition linked does fit some posters on here.

"An excessively loyal fan of a product and/or its company who blindly supports the every action of said product/company without question or reasoning."

Maybe not in regards to Tressel, but I'd say the shoe fits some on here.

[K92]

You gotta hand it to him. That Scarborough sure knows how to unite the community.

[Dr Z]

You gotta hand it to him. That Scarborough sure knows how to unite the community.

I've never craved for football practice to start the way I have this year. Yes I'm talking about PRACTICE Allen! Ponderous times around ZN these days.

[skip-zip]

What did we expect? These other "Universities" would certainly love if the talk among students in NE Ohio is that Akron is choosing to "downgrade" to a "Tech School" in order to try to attract more students.

Again, I am not bothered by the objective, just the path that was chosen.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I've never craved for football practice to start the way I have this year. Yes I'm talking about PRACTICE Allen! Ponderous times around ZN these days.

I wonder what logo will be on the Zips practice helmets this summer?

[Dave in Green]

LZip, there's no debate about the meaning of "fan boy." It's a dismissive, insulting term when used in the context of a discussion among people whose opinions may differ from yours but are no less thoughtful and valid. Inappropriately tossing that term around is symptomatic of a lack of respect, and those who show no respect for the opinions of others are not likely to receive much respect in return.

It's a shallow pseudo-debate strategy to exaggerate and misrepresent other people's positions to try to bolster one's own. An example is the claim that I never had anything good to say about Dr. Scarborough when, in fact, I simply reported out on my serious and objective search for background information on him. The gist of my findings was that he had a sound financial background but that he'd been involved in controversial cost-cutting and privatization issues at other universities which were reported on various news sites and forums. In fact I tried to emphasize the potential positive aspects for UA of Dr. Scarborough's financial background in this post.

Personally, I think that you and others who I may not always agree with nonetheless present some valid points that help educate me and influence my thinking. Can we agree to have civil discussions where we treat different viewpoints with the same respect that we expect to receive from others and stay away from the misrepresentation and false labeling of other people's positions that cheapens it into a pissing contest?

[a-zip]

I wonder what logo will be on the Zips practice helmets this summer?

OPI

ZIPS

[Dr Z]

I wonder what logo will be on the Zips practice helmets this summer?

They are going with the greatest designed logo in sports to end the logo debate. Wrong letters? So what. Wrong sport? Who cares? It's all about the logo!

[Spin]

This forum and social media are perfect examples that most people (general public, prospective students, prospective benefactors, prospective sponsors, not to mention $$ALUMNI$$) do not understand the complete definition of "polytechnic". That is why the rebranding is a very bad idea. And a PR nightmare.

Not to mention the constantly backpedalling Scarborough, or his son making an ass out of both of them.

[Zip_ME87]

The root issue with the education system in the United States lies in the US Congress and the State Legislatures. Our representatives have become so engrossed in keeping their jobs that they absolutely do not do their jobs. They have so many special interests and pet projects to bring money to their districts and their largest campaign contributors that they do not look out for the best interests of the country. Education, infrastructure, technological intellectual property are things that drive the economy, yet instead of funding and/or protecting these things, they're passing legislation to give away taxpayers money to whatever special interests and contributors help them maintain their seats. They see defense of the US as sole responsibility of the Defense Department, Homeland Security, law enforcement, intelligence organizations, and other such entities. While those groups have a definite large stake in US defense, the country's security begins with the welfare of its people and economy. If the general standard of living and education are poor and you're giving away your economic leadership, you cannot possibly continue to be secure.

[Spin]

POLL: Do you like the University of Akron's rebranding strategy?

http://www.ohio.com/blogs/digital-desk/the-digital-desk-1.481514/poll-do-you-like-the-university-of-akron-s-rebranding-strategy-1.592193

More news

http://www.ohio.com/news/local/university-of-akron-refuses-to-release-marketing-studies-on-rebranding-1.593568

[a-zip]

POLL: Do you like the University of Akron's rebranding strategy?

http://www.ohio.com/blogs/digital-desk/the-digital-desk-1.481514/poll-do-you-like-the-university-of-akron-s-rebranding-strategy-1.592193

More news

http://www.ohio.com/news/local/university-of-akron-refuses-to-release-marketing-studies-on-rebranding-1.593568

Seems like an odd poll as we don't know what the strategy is. We know what the idea/concept is...,

[Balsy]

Seems like an odd poll as we don't know what the strategy is. We know what the idea/concept is...,

It isn't. We already know what the "rebranding" is because Scarborough's entire presentation last week was about it.

The article about UA refusing to release the studies that have been conducted on the manner, which I've already mentioned numerous times. Calling Scarborough's arguement bullshit, because he's hinding behind "proprietary" to keep it a secret. If there's sound evidence of rebranding and the postitive impact it has on universities/the consolidation of universities, it's be published it reputable peer reviewed journals. It's easy to get the outcome you want when you pay for it.

Side note: The asinine crap modern universities do. UA has the resources ON CAMPUS to conduct it's own studies and strategies. It's called the students. Universities are about creating young minds, and yet they completely ignore those minds and ideas to throw money into the private sector on bullshit.

[Balsy]

The root issue with the education system in the United States lies in the US Congress and the State Legislatures. Our representatives have become so engrossed in keeping their jobs that they absolutely do not do their jobs. They have so many special interests and pet projects to bring money to their districts and their largest campaign contributors that they do not look out for the best interests of the country. Education, infrastructure, technological intellectual property are things that drive the economy, yet instead of funding and/or protecting these things, they're passing legislation to give away taxpayers money to whatever special interests and contributors help them maintain their seats. They see defense of the US as sole responsibility of the Defense Department, Homeland Security, law enforcement, intelligence organizations, and other such entities. While those groups have a definite large stake in US defense, the country's security begins with the welfare of its people and economy. If the general standard of living and education are poor and you're giving away your economic leadership, you cannot possibly continue to be secure.

And let's be very clear about something: the quality of education is decreasing in this country, largely due to time wasted on this bullshit, and the time wasted spent listening to billionairs like Bill Gates and Mark Cuban, who know nothing about it.

Scarborough and UA are running a pilot program that is an example of the decling quality of education: majority online courses for those "gen ed" classes that will have the only interaction with people being the student with a "success coach" instead of the teacher of record or tenured faculty.

[LZIp]

Personally, I think that you and others who I may not always agree with nonetheless present some valid points that help educate me and influence my thinking. Can we agree to have civil discussions where we treat different viewpoints with the same respect that we expect to receive from others and stay away from the misrepresentation and false labeling of other people's positions that cheapens it into a pissing contest?

Sure. Can you explain to me why you were a fan of Tressel during the presidency nomination process and were mostly not a fan of Scarborough, but now all of the sudden (I believe he has had very little time/done little to "prove himself") agree with everything Scaborough seems to be doing yet dismiss Tressel's opinion on the subject?

[a-zip]

It isn't. We already know what the "rebranding" is because Scarborough's entire presentation last week was about it.

The article about UA refusing to release the studies that have been conducted on the manner, which I've already mentioned numerous times. Calling Scarborough's arguement bullshit, because he's hinding behind "proprietary" to keep it a secret. If there's sound evidence of rebranding and the postitive impact it has on universities/the consolidation of universities, it's be published it reputable peer reviewed journals. It's easy to get the outcome you want when you pay for it.

Side note: The asinine crap modern universities do. UA has the resources ON CAMPUS to conduct it's own studies and strategies. It's called the students. Universities are about creating young minds, and yet they completely ignore those minds and ideas to throw money into the private sector on bullshit.

Strategy

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strategy

Vision

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vision

Balsy, There is a difference between a "vision" and a "strategy". I have not seen the specific industry level strategy……..Have you?

To paraphrase his speech;

On April 15, we announced The University of Akron would begin to offer a set of General Education courses at half the average tuition cost of community college rates using blended learning technology and pedagogy.

Yesterday, we announced the creation of a new National Center for Dance Choreography in partnership with Dance Cleveland and the Knight Foundation.

So in addition to low-cost general education courses and new center for choreography with Dance Cleveland and the Knight Foundation, our next major initiative is to develop a new center for data science and information technology.

These are some of the early steps we are taking to become a Great Public University: higher education for the masses, career-focused experiential learning, and learning that is connected to business and industry.

We have sought to complement these planned steps with an industry-level strategy that repositions the university for long-term growth. A repositioning that will extend our student recruitment beyond our historical limits.

So the industry-level strategy for The University of Akron going forward is to be “Ohio’s polytechnic university.”

Balsy - What Dr. Scarborough outlined in his speech is a "vision" and the implementation of some initial plans. The industry level strategy was not revealed. THAT strategy will determine our fate.

[a-zip]

Bill Gates, the billionaire who knows nothing about education

http://www.gatesnotes.com/Education/The-Future-of-College-NACUBO-Remarks

http://www.gatesnotes.com/Education/Colleges-Without-Walls-Arizona

Another interesting read

http://www.the-american-interest.com/2012/12/11/the-end-of-the-university-as-we-know-it/

[LZIp]

wut

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/05/university_of_akron_spends_111.html#incart_river