Will UIC's Chicago profile rise? (Normal, DeKalb: houses, public schools, universities)

[edsg25]

Consider this the "where to, UIC?" thread. What direction will this university go? What does its future look like?

Consider the following, an ecclectic group of observations in no particular order that relates to past, present, and very much the future of this instiution:

• Late in establishment (1960s), Chicagoland's first major public university through its Circle campus got off to a limited start.

• Graduate level programs were limited. Night classes were not held. Much was done to placate the private universities (principally DeP, Loyola, Roosevelt) to keep competition limited. The school did not have a residential component.

• then, as now, it functioned in a city that is one of the powerhouses of higher education in the US with the likes of Northwestern and U of C in its midst.

• there is no question that UIUC wished to keep its "big brother" role in relationship with UICC-turned-UIC.

• yet today, this university has a major residential component, night classes and grad level classes galore, and a special status that comes with merging with the U of I med center into a single instiution.

• UIC alone other than the Big Ten and the U of C is a member of the prestigous CIC.

• There is no question that UIC has risen to second place status among Illinois public universities

• Illinois though much larger than states like Michigan (U-M, MSU) and Indiana (IU, Purdue) has only one flagship public university (U of I), forcing so many of our states best students to finding slots at schools like UW, IU, UIowa. If UIC were our second flagship, a need would be served.

• Of all the U of __ @ __ schools, UIC may have one of the best shots at being like the one that invented the concept and brought it to its greatest heights: UCLA. Could UIC be our UCLA?

• Is UIC's profile as Chicagoland's public university lessened by its age compared to what other cities have in public schools like Pitt, Temple (Philly), Cincinnati? That some of these (Pitt, Temple) were once private may also raise their profile in comparison to UIC. Can UIC be our Pitt?

• If the global economy is destined to become even more focused around Chicago than the rest of the state (is it even capable of becoming anymore focused?), what does that say for UIC's position within the public universities of Illinois? Does Chicago give UIC an edge that NIU, SIU, and ISU simply do not have? UIUC has strong Chicago connections that those smaller schools do not have, connections far beyond enrollment of Chicagoland students (something they all share). UIUC is very much a "Chicago related" university. But it is not here. It's 160 miles removed. Does UIC have a chance to make inroads on UIUC by parlaying the Chicago card?

Again the above is little more than some personal observations and questions, some on track, I hope, others missing the mark. They're included as little more than to stimulate conversation since I'm far more interested in how you folks see this than how I do?

So tell me, if you'd be so kind:

WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE FUTURE AND RELATIVE POSITION OF UIC?

[thePR]

I'm going to stop you and say that ISU is Illinois' second best public institution.

[skipcromer]

Originally Posted by thePR

I'm going to stop you and say that ISU is Illinois' second best public institution.

ISU, UIC, UIS, EIU, SIUC, SIUE, WIU, NIU, are all pretty comparable depending on the program of study.

Not a huge difference in any of them really.

[thePR]

Originally Posted by skipcromer

ISU, UIC, UIS, EIU, SIUC, SIUE, WIU, NIU, are all pretty comparable depending on the program of study.

Not a huge difference in any of them really.

College's themselves don't come up much at City-Data but when I talk about a college being "better" I'm talking about overall.

[skipcromer]

Originally Posted by thePR

College's themselves don't come up much at City-Data but when I talk about a college being "better" I'm talking about overall.

Ok...and what I am saying is in the grand scheme of things they are all about equal.

[thePR]

I though you were saying that certain departments were better, that's why I said that.

I disagree with that then. Especially for a few schools.

[skipcromer]

Originally Posted by thePR

I though you were saying that certain departments were better, that's why I said that.

I disagree with that then. Especially for a few schools.

Well, I was saying that as well. The different schools have different strengths which equal out for the most part.

ISU may have a better reputation (thats debatable as I believe SIUC has more of a reputation regarding research) than the other schools, but from what i've seen all of the above campuses mentioned have about the same quality of instructors, with the edge going to SIUC and ISU.

[thePR]

I would put the schools roughly in this order:

ISU, UIC, NIU, SIUC, WIU/ EIU, UIS/SIUE.

[edsg25]

Seems there was a lot of focus on my comparison of UIC with schools like ISU, NIU, and SIU. It was hardly the main thrust of my quest here.

UIC, ISU, NIU, and SIU are close enough in rankings and none are UIUC. US News groups these schools in Tier 3, but gives UIC a higher academic reputation in most of yearly surveys. US News, on the other hand, can be full of crap.

UIC benefits from its being part of the U of I system which it doesn't share with the other schools mentioned above. Only two universities were born from the roots of this system as well as being major universities: UIUC and UIC; UIS is a small school, converted into a U of I campus.

So I do believe that UIUC and UIC have an edge because of the system.

But again, don't think I'm weighing in too heavily on the comparison. Let's remember that schools like NIU, SIU, and ISU had much deeper roots, albeit going back to normal school days. UIC (as UICC) is much newer, dating back to 1965 as a 4 year institution as well as being an institution of its own rather than a U of I branch. That's a short time for such a rise in in-state status.

And I can't help to believe that a Chicago location is going to spell dividends that neither Normal, Carbondale, or even fringe-of-suburban DeKalb.

[thePR]

Ok, addressing the original question. I do think UIC's profile will rise, it's problem is that it is a faily new school and it seems like any college made after the 1930s does not have a high profile and since it has only been 27 years since it's final merger making it "The University of Illinois at Chicago" it will take some time before reaches a high standing, but it will get there.

It's really helping that it is becoming less and less of a commuter school and that the cost is relatively low.