Is Georgia State headed for the big time as a major university? (schools, employers)

[krogerDisco]

Originally Posted by goillini8

Interesting question. It has a tremendous opportunity given it's location. Will it meet resistance from leaders and supporters of other schools? Can it get more money from the State? Can it get the research dollars?

They've reached $120 in contracts. That's pretty good.

It may never have the name recognition of huge flagship state schools or elite private schools, but that doesn't mean it can't be great. University of Central Florida in Orlando has really built itself into a very good school over the years. To an outsider, it just sounds like any old "directional" state school, and I think many people would be surprised to see it's below 50% acceptance rate, research activity, academic quality and size. Like GSU, it also has relatively big-time athletics - D1 in a great recruiting area for a lot of sports, but not Power 5 conference.

I think UCF targeted studies like computer science to excel in. Plus their football program has done very well. UCF was pretty much on par with GSU long ago, but they have propelled themselves in the public eye as a pretty big deal. FSU, Miami, and Florida will over shadow them. FSU should give GSU some hope though.

The one thing that schools on the rise like GSU usually don't have in relation to the flagship state Us or the elite private schools is a substantial endowment - which is always a hedge against short-term economic bumps and enables a school to think more strategically over the long term.

They are doing much better in fund raising. If wikipedia is right, they have $186 million. Not bad, but to be a big deal it should be pushing $1 billion at least.

Also, being a great school, doesn't necessarily have to equate with being a "national" school - you know, the ones everyone knows either through sports and/or simply because of their elite status (e.g., Harvard). GSU could be school like San Jose State, which is easily overshadowed by Stanford and Berkeley in the Bay Area, yet has grown, improved, has great ties to the tech industry, and thrives under radar (well, under radar to most of the nation, not in the Bay Area). Given how much Atlanta area and the Southeast has grown in general over the past two decades, GSU could be the same sort of school.

I think GSU had been hoping to be "Atlanta's university" but Kennesaw State had become a rival which isn't so good. GSU would like to be more in competition with Tech and UGA than KSU.

[bellhead]

Originally Posted by goillini8

Also, being a great school, doesn't necessarily have to equate with being a "national" school - you know, the ones everyone knows either through sports and/or simply because of their elite status (e.g., Harvard). GSU could be school like San Jose State, which is easily overshadowed by Stanford and Berkeley in the Bay Area, yet has grown, improved, has great ties to the tech industry, and thrives under radar (well, under radar to most of the nation, not in the Bay Area). Given how much Atlanta area and the Southeast has grown in general over the past two decades, GSU could be the same sort of school.

Exactly the point I was trying to make with the University of Cincinnati it is a very good school but isn't known as a national elite school but it is a top flight research university.

There is a really good article on this today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/31/op...e-iphone-share

If you compare averages, blue states are substantially richer (even adjusting for cost of living) and their residents are better educated. Companies there do more research and development and produce more patents. Students score better on tests of basic science-oriented skills like math.

Not trying to get political on this issue, but this is the main reason you need to promote research universities in your state.

[goillini8]

Originally Posted by bellhead

Exactly the point I was trying to make with the University of Cincinnati it is a very good school but isn't known as a national elite school but it is a top flight research university.

There is a really good article on this today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/31/op...e-iphone-share

If you compare averages, blue states are substantially richer (even adjusting for cost of living) and their residents are better educated. Companies there do more research and development and produce more patents. Students score better on tests of basic science-oriented skills like math.

Not trying to get political on this issue, but this is the main reason you need to promote research universities in your state.

Definitely. Cincinnati is a "quiet" major university; and major in every way except Power 5 sports conference. It's an excellent school. As a research university and as a sports school, it would have been a fantastic addition to the Big 10 when they went to 14 schools. I would have liked to have seen it. But, I don't think OSU would want it to happen and there's the whole "new media market" thing, i.e., Cincinnati was not going to bring in enough new eyes considering many in the area already watch OSU.

And unlike CFU, which I talked about earlier, GSU, and San Jose State, it has a sizeable endowment -over $1 billion.

[_OT]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I think I misunderstood the criteria for what makes a major university. Georgia state still seems like a big deal to me.

GSU is a major university, but not on a larger scale as other major universities

[goillini8]

I think "major," as a lot of posters are talking about it, goes beyond student population, simply size, but also includes level of research money, breadth of graduate programs, and some other factors (endowment to some extent, sports to some extent).

Based on simple size of the university, GSU has been "major" for quite some times. But, again, a lot of us are talking about more than that.

[demonta4]

Originally Posted by mgfam

GSU？ definitely not a major univ. yet. Basically, it is still a teaching univ. Speacking of research, which GSU's weakness is, is a major deciding factor to determine if the university is a major one or not. By this measurement, only Emory, Tech, and UGA can be considered as major univ. in Georgia.

SCAD? Mercer?

[Hokiehaven]

GSU reminds me a lot of Old Dominion in VA, a clear school behind the likes of Virginia, Virginia Tech, William & Mary, VCU and more, and a former commuter school, but they started to try to make the move to being more of a campus, sports, all-around school about a decade ago and they started playing football in 2009, GSU started in 2010. Both are also in relatively urban parts of cities, GSU more urban than ODU.

[krogerDisco]

Originally Posted by demonta4

SCAD? Mercer?

SCAD is bit too narrow in focus. Small and not an academic heavyweight.

Mercer has a wide range of offerings, but likewise a bit small and not an academic heavyweight.

[krogerDisco]

Originally Posted by _OT

GSU is a major university, but not on a larger scale as other major universities

So a minor major?

[PJA]

Originally Posted by krogerDisco

GSU is not in US News' Top 200. Britain's Times placed GSU as #487 in the world. Not great, but good to be recognized. Emory #79, Georgia Tech #86, UGA #204, Augusta U #462. I think Augusta is resting on the laurels of its med school.

It also just became a research university within the last couple of years so it will have a ways to go until it can be considered on the level as the other research universities in the state.