  Emu_steve Member Username: Emu_steve Post Number: 625 Registered: 11-2006 |
This guy isn't a Reid, but could be the pres at a Big 12 caliber school. tremendous resume. However, Detroit and Lincoln, NE are very, very different cities. EMU has 4 finalists for their vacancy and the field is VERY weak. Good day for WSU. EMU?????? | ||
Evelyn Member Username: Evelyn Post Number: 223 Registered: 02-2005 |
Link: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs .dll/article?AID=/20080508/NEW S01/80508081/1003 I haven’t been following Wayne State’s search for President Reid's successor, nor do I know much about this fellow from Nebraska. Anyone else want to chime in? | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 4760 Registered: 02-2005 |
UM's pres. came from Iowa. That didn't work out too well. I think the next WSU pres. will be crucial in carrying on the master plan for the campus created under Reid, and in continuing to pound the idea that Wayne needs to become more residential and less commuter-geared. | ||
Evelyn Member Username: Evelyn Post Number: 224 Registered: 02-2005 |
I think you're right, Mackinaw. Looking back at the past few Wayne State presidents, they each seemed to have a different idea of what Wayne's direction should be. (Adamany and Reid, for an easy example.) Whoever takes the job now should keep moving the university in the same direction- more residential and undergrad focused. Moving away from a all-commuter school has been, and will be, a very good thing for the college and the area around it. | ||
Mrsjdaniels Member Username: Mrsjdaniels Post Number: 861 Registered: 08-2005 |
the residential aspect will be handled by the BOG...my concern is the bio-med focus for the future. as an employee, I see the need for streamlining staff and processes... I give it a few years...the entrance qualifications will go up...not sure how happy that will make the community | ||
Lo_to_d Member Username: Lo_to_d Post Number: 77 Registered: 07-2007 |
I bet Joanne Watson is already screaming for his replacement. | ||
Emu_steve Member Username: Emu_steve Post Number: 626 Registered: 11-2006 |
good points. this guy would be a good pick for say Nebraska U which has a VERY different focus then Wayne. Hope their isn't a 'cultural clash' here. I have a degree from WSU and have posted here that Wayne seems to be two DISTINCTLY different universities - the undergrad school and the grad/prof/med, etc. schools. Which school will the good doctor want to lead? Can he wear two hats? | ||
Patrick Member Username: Patrick Post Number: 5383 Registered: 10-2003 |
There will be a culture clash no doubt about it. WSU is divided into two main camps right now. There are those who want to keep the school as a place focused more towards the urban agenda by providing educational access to those who might not be qualified to go anywhere else. Then there are those who want to see it become a world-class institution focused mainly on research. According to several professors....it cannot be both. | ||
Mwilbert Member Username: Mwilbert Post Number: 219 Registered: 11-2007 |
Undergraduate and graduate schools are completely different animals. I don't see any reason you couldn't have a top-tier research university and a less selective undergrad school--the research professors mostly don't want to teach undergrads anyway. Wayne already has some pretty high-ranked graduate departments, so there doesn't seem to be any inherent reason more of them couldn't be. | ||
Emu_steve Member Username: Emu_steve Post Number: 627 Registered: 11-2006 |
In the name of fairness, some highly qualified undergrads go to Wayne so they can live at home and save $. This is also true of EMU and Oakland. | ||
Dpd_blue Member Username: Dpd_blue Post Number: 210 Registered: 05-2005 |
Their is also alot students at WSU that would not get into any other 4 year college. WSU's undergrad program is nothing nut a 4 year community college. | ||
Mwilbert Member Username: Mwilbert Post Number: 221 Registered: 11-2007 |
"There are also a lot of students at WSU that would not get into any other 4 year college." That really isn't true. There are lots of 4-year colleges that will pretty much take anyone with a pulse. I won't annoy people by mentioning names. Wayne is not at the bottom of that list. | ||
East_detroit Member Username: East_detroit Post Number: 1737 Registered: 11-2003 |
Dpd_blue, that was a pretty ignorant comment. How about posting some specifics? However, the "Their is also alot students" speaks for itself. | ||
Pistonian_revolution Member Username: Pistonian_revolution Post Number: 98 Registered: 05-2006 |
well said, East_detroit. WSU student representing, warrendale to fourth street and beyond. | ||
Dpd_blue Member Username: Dpd_blue Post Number: 211 Registered: 05-2005 |
According to the statistics gathered by The Education Trust, WSU has the lowest graduation rate of public institutions in the state and the lowest average SAT scores. http://www.collegeresults.org/ search1ba.aspx?InstitutionID=1 69248,169798,169910,170082,170 639,171100,171128,171571,17205 1,170976,171137,171146,172644, 172699 http://www.collegeresults.org/ search1ba.aspx?InstitutionID=1 69248,169798,169910,170082,170 639,171100,171128,171571,17205 1,170976,171137,171146,172644, 172699 | ||
Evelyn Member Username: Evelyn Post Number: 226 Registered: 02-2005 |
SAT scores? The tests students take during high school- not college? That's indicative of the college's admission standards, not of the college's graduation standards. Here’s some facts I quickly gathered about WSU: Wayne State was ranked in the 203-204 range worldwide by the 2007 Academic Ranking of World Universities, putting it in the same ranking status as Georgetown University, University of Notre Dame, Syracuse University and Brandeis University, among many others. http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/rank/200 7/ARWU2007TOP500list.htm The U.S. News and World report ranked Wayne State in the Fourth Tier among national, doctoral degree-granting institutions in the United States. http://colleges.usnews.ranking sandreviews.com/usnews/edu/col lege/directory/brief/drglance_ 2329_brief.php Wayne State is one of 3.6 percent of universities with a Carnegie classification of RU/VH (which stands for: Research Universities, Very High research activity) http://www.carnegiefoundation. org/classifications/sub.asp?ke y=748&subkey=14807&start=782 Finally, WSU graduates are often the first from their families to graduate from college- reflective of a university that serves the needs of its community, which is underprivileged and working class. http://www.ed.gov/inits/teache rs/exemplarypractices/b-1.html If you would like to argue about Wayne State’s admission or graduate standards, I’d be curious to know what universities WSU should be compared to. | ||
Mwilbert Member Username: Mwilbert Post Number: 223 Registered: 11-2007 |
You don't want to confuse Wayne's graduate and undergraduate standards. Wayne is a major research university and many of Wayne's graduate programs are top-50 or better. Wayne's undergraduate program is not. It is hard to combine high undergraduate admission standards and a strong urban orientation, because urban schools don't tend to produce enough students capable of meeting those admission standards. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 4766 Registered: 02-2005 |
WSU is an enigma. Let's just focus on it's undergrad college. There is a critical mass of highly qualified students here, students that got A averages in high school, scored 30 on their ACT, etc. There is a highly qualified faculty (I enjoyed all of my profs there, except one-- because of the subject), and there are all the opportunities that come with going to school in an urban/cultural center. These are all plus factors in tabulating Wayne's prestige and reputation [for those of you who don't worry about prestige, you might as well tune out here, but I think it is important in many employment markets, and in attracting talent to our region]. Wayne, however, has a fairly open door at the bottom, and while tons of great students elect to go to Wayne, just as many students with marginal high school resumes and tests scores that are near or below the national mean are admitted. These, obviously, has a statistical effect when Wayne reports the composition of their incoming classes, and that's why they can never get above a certain threshold in terms of prestige and rankings, despite all the amazing accomplishments and assets of the school. That's why trying to characterize the school is difficult. The issue of having that open door is compounded with the fact that many of these people can't keep up in a rigorous college environment, and they drop out or graduate in five or six years. Furthermore, many of the hierarchy transfer away. All of these (dropouts, transfers, and late graduations) also make the stats on paper look less impressive for Wayne. Patrick's earlier distinction was spot-on...and up til now, the camp in favor of access has held sway. I found this out the hard way when I was emailed by a dean of the school after I scrutinized the school's admission policy, and urged Wayne to combine the best of its urban assets and its academic prowess to create an institution that would receive the regard and acclaim it ought to...and the only way to do that is to enforce some standards. The problem is not giving some people who might be underqualified on paper a chance. I have no problem with giving someone with a great personal story or someone who's overcome socioeconomic disadvantage a shot if they do a good job, on their application, of conveying their desire to get a degree. But the door should only be open a crack to these less-qualified applicants, so that only the people that really want the degree get admitted, because these are the people that will get their degree, and not drop out and hurt the school's reputation, after the school was overly generous in letting them in. I think plenty of diversity can be retained, and WSU can continue to carry out their unique role of providing access in a unique urban environment, but they have to be more careful, and look more closely, at who they let in...they can keep their mission, and do their reputation (for whatever that's worth) a ton of good, if they use a bit more scrutiny in admissions. In a decade or two, if Wayne takes these measures, and if Detroit continues on its trajectory of improvement and Wayne continues to make its campus and neighborhood better (and encourage on-campus living), I think it could become a more highly regarded undergrad instituion, and a more thoroughly collegiate place to be [i.e. less of a commuter school], and its ranking would skyrocket. The effect of this would be much more interest in the school beyond metro Detroit, and the possibility that midtown could boom in a way that we can only imagine at this point, if Wayne and midtown Detroit become a highly desirable place that people in other parts of the country notice and want to go to. Imagine a part of our city becoming trendy like Lincoln Park-Loyola in Chi, Oakland-Pitt in Pittsburgh, West Philly-Penn-Drexel, or, dare I say, Greenwich Village. Don't let my concern about trying to make WSU a better place detract from the fact that it is already great. My parents and other friends/relatives got all their degrees there. We should just always think about was to improve a place like this, which has such an integral place in the city. | ||
East_detroit Member Username: East_detroit Post Number: 1738 Registered: 11-2003 |
Lowest graduation rate means what? People were flunking out? Commuters were time crunched by their jobs? People did so well before graduating that they were promoted in their jobs or moved on to bigger schools? Basically, it doesn't mean anything on its own. As Evelyn points out with numbers, WSU is highly regarded. One of Detroit's gems and a source of pride for us. (Although Metro Detroit's occasional self-loathing does seem to get the better of us sometimes and for some reason(s)). I do remember someone from the DPD who was in my 3080 Stats class and didn't belong there, though... | ||
Mrsjdaniels Member Username: Mrsjdaniels Post Number: 865 Registered: 08-2005 |
the prob is the committee to determine issues of retention has not really flourished...so they do not really know why folks don't graduate...most believe it to be because we are letting folks in who aren't necessarily ready but who really knows. Grad school - the tops all around...PharmD,PhD, EdD, Law & Med - great! UG - When I ran commencement I would ask students "what school or college?" to look their names and folks would say "Wayne State!"...DOH! One person even said "UofM walks with us too?" OMG! | ||
Evelyn Member Username: Evelyn Post Number: 228 Registered: 02-2005 |
Very well said, Mackinaw. And the grad and undergrad schools at Wayne are very different animals, and can’t really be compared. I just get cranky when people rag on WSU. It’s got a lot more things going for it than it has drawbacks, and it’s easy to forget about the school’s positives. Having said that, after working as an English tutor for Wayne, I was dismayed by the reading and writing skills of the students. If you’re about to graduate from college, you ought to have a basic grasp of grammar, or at least be able to find the “spell and grammar check” window on your word processing program! Hmm... looks like a done deal. Curious about this open forum, though. http://bog.wayne.edu/president ialsearch/ | ||
Cassie1717 Member Username: Cassie1717 Post Number: 64 Registered: 04-2005 |
I wonder if he was picked for his medical expertise as a doctor in light of the issues between WSU and the DMC. Anyone venture a guess? | ||
Detroitpharmstudent Member Username: Detroitpharmstudent Post Number: 24 Registered: 09-2007 |
I doubt the WSU/DMC problems had very much to do with his getting the job. Although I'm sure he'll be of some help. | ||
Emu_steve Member Username: Emu_steve Post Number: 628 Registered: 11-2006 |
My guess is that he was chosen primarily because he is 1). extremely qualified 2). Had applied for the position before (Reid was picked). #2 is very fascinating to me. It shows some real interest, I think. I doubt it was "I'll take any higher paying job" type motivation. BTW, EMU selected their president. I believe her current position is provost at UofM-Dearborn. | ||
Evelyn Member Username: Evelyn Post Number: 242 Registered: 02-2005 |
A bit late, but Wayne State’s new president was on Detroit Today this past Wednesday. http://www.wdetfm.org/rss/ And EMU's president begins her term in July. http://www.emich.edu/univcomm/ releases/051408prezmartin.html |
