UNO Chancellor ousted by LSU

[The Historian]

http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/UNO-...103060594.html

I had a chance to watch his entire press conference live. It is pretty clear LSU intends to gut UNO. Its days as a national research university are over.

[louisiana_dog]

Saw this. I have a lot of friends that went/attend there. It is a sad day and year for UNO.

[The Historian]

http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/UNO-...103060594.html
From WWL TV's 5 p.m. newscast.

If LSU is taking the lead in beginning the process of dramatically cutting its branch campuses, the University of Louisiana System must be under enormous pressure to do the same with the likes of McNeese, SLU, Nichols, and ULM. It is very apparent there will be no federal stimulus bailout by July 1 of next year. Tech and ULL will be hit but not like the others.

[PawDawg]

http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/UNO-...103060594.html
From WWL TV's 5 p.m. newscast.

If LSU is taking the lead in beginning the process of dramatically cutting its branch campuses, the University of Louisiana System must be under enormous pressure to do the same with the likes of McNeese, SLU, Nichols, and ULM. It is very apparent there will be no federal stimulus bailout by July 1 of next year. Tech and ULL will be hit but not like the others.

I've tried to keep up with what nlulm has done to cut so far. They just recently cut maintenance staff which I think we did a while back. Other than that and no President's salary, I haven't seen much reported. Cofer coudn't get out of town fast enough.

Did y'all see the Gannett story today on what lsu would have to cut to reach the 30% (?) reductions? Of course it won't happen in BR, but their branch campuses are about to get hammered.

[bulldawg03]

LSU — as an education institution — is beyond delusional these days.

http://neworleanscitybusiness.com/bl...e-with-school/

http://blogofneworleans.com/blog/201...New+Orleans%29

[9701Dawg]

Not surprising when you see the big cuts that LSU is facing.

http://www.abc26.com/news/local/wgno...0,428739.story

[JuBru]

the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate are both UNO grads

But are they LSU lackies? If not, I hope they bring the banhammer on LSU as much as possible.

[bulldawg03]

We — the state — wouldn't be in this issue if we didn't have so many colleges and universities:

High college count too costly for Louisiana

POSTED: 02:37 PM Thursday, June 3, 2010
BY: Christian Moises, News Editor

In the fall of 2009, 139,320 students were enrolled at Louisiana’s 14 four-year public colleges and 49,767 students attended the state’s 10 two-year institutions, according to a CityBusiness survey.
Then there are the thousands of students at the state’s seven private schools, nearly 40 Louisiana Technical College campuses and students earning degrees through the schools such as the University of Phoenix, Strayer University, ITT Technical Institute and online programs.
That’s quite a few educational outlets in a state with a population of 4.5 million, according to a July 2009 Census report. That’s also a lot of money when adding up salaries, technology, utilities, building maintenance and the other line items that come with keeping a school in operation.
Louisiana is not growing much these days, and we’re now paying for an over saturation of publicly funded colleges and universities. Making a college degree accessible to as many students is possible is commendable but it’s obviously not fiscally smart, at least not any more.
Hard times call for hard decisions. It’s time to consider serious consolidation - or closures.
Are 70 higher education campuses necessary? How many British literature programs are really necessary?
There are three aviation programs in Louisiana: at Louisiana Tech University, Northwestern State University and University of Louisiana at Monroe. Aviation is a pretty specialized degree, so wouldn’t it make sense to select the one school with the strongest program and best facilities to be the go-to in the state?
The same can be said for specialized engineering, agriculture and music programs.
If Louisiana were geographically larger, it might make sense. But look at northern Louisiana, where Louisiana Tech and ULM are separated by a 30-minute drive on Interstate 20. Both schools offer many of the same programs, yet many students make the commute each day from one city to the other.
Close one down.
Schools such as Strayer and the University of Phoenix have shown that embracing technology can go a long way these days, with classes being taught online or via videoconferencing. It’s actually becoming the norm, with the majority of universities allowing students to earn degrees online.
Think how much money could be saved if those multiple British literature classes Louisiana State University offers at its four locations were taught by two or three professors over the Internet while students sit in front of their home computer.
Budget cuts have been hacking away at higher education in Louisiana for the past several years, and those cuts continue to go deeper, with even more planned in the coming years.
What’s most disturbing is that more than 60 percent of the state’s budget is nondiscretionary, leaving higher education and health care - two of the state’s most vital sectors - as the largest areas vulnerable to spending cuts.
So the state’s higher education streamlining commission has been issuing recommendations for months on how to rein in spending at these schools, and the outcome hasn’t been pretty. Faculty and staff layoffs, program cuts and higher tuition are just a few of the ways the campuses are trying to cope with the funding loss.
While allowing university officials throughout the state to figure out for themselves how to come in line financially with the state’s budget is admirable - and smart - trimming funds across the board is watering down the state’s higher education system.
The cuts that really need to be made are in the number of campuses in Louisiana. That’s no easy task, given that each institution is not only educating the work force but also providing crucial employment and a tax base.
But if the hard decisions aren’t made, the tedious process of cutting budgets will continue to slowly slice away at higher education until consolidation is the only option.•

[dawg80]

This Moses guy singles out Tech and ulm, being 30 miles apart. "Close one down" he says. How bout closing Grambling, it's 5 miles from Tech. Close Southern, it's 5 miles from LSU. Hell! close Southeastern, it's only about 40 miles from LSU.

Well, if things go as they appear they will, get ready for some draconian cuts. Some of you will cheer the cuts. But, it appears to me that gutting universities, while keeping all 14 open, is worse than just closing 3-5 and shoring up the rest.

There's gonna be "blood in the streets" as the saying goes.

[WWDog]

I'm glad TECH didn't get sucked into the LSU system as proposed a couple of years ago or the evil empire could be doing to TECH what they are doing to UNO now. Not that things aren't going to be easy but it helps that you aren't sharing the $$$ with the political ogre! I'm also glad that DR has positioned TECH as best he could for these goings on.

[Soonerdawg]

The higher education bubble is bursting.

[champion110]

They just need to cut the lowest performing universities. It is very simple, but very political.

[WWDog]

Cutting the lowest performing IS the right answer but will that happen? I doubt it for the simple reason you stated Champ. Are you turning into a conservative?

[PawDawg]

Cutting the lowest performing IS the right answer but will that happen? I doubt it for the simple reason you stated Champ. Are you turning into a conservative?

He forgot about Grambling. Let him get back with you.