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ASU President Michael Crow has announced some significant changes to ASU and its operations. Some of the changes include dramatic cuts at the ASU West and Polytechnic campuses. Crow is also assuring the public that he is not going to pull a Napolitano and head for a better job elsewhere.
I am sure this is going to spark another whole round of panics and threats that Arizona's education system is going down the tubes. Here is a bit of a reality check:
First, it looks like in some ways, Crow is taking the critical schools and retrieving them back to the main or downtown campus. In the short run, this will eliminate redundancy. In the long run, this may be a play for ASU to let West and Poly go, which I have said before, may not be a bad thing. State colleges run by separate boards would be a great way to offer undergraduate programs at cheaper rates and educate different parts of the workforce.
Second, before everyone freaks out too much, remember that its only been under Crow's empire that ASU has grown so much. Wasn't he the one who coined "One University, Many Places?" Not too long ago, ASU only had the main campus and the West Campus. ASU Poly has only been around since 1996 and the Downtown brainchild is only a couple years old. If West and Poly go, ASU would have a net campus gain of zero, basically trading West for Downtown. That may hurt Crow's legacy, but its not devastating to the actual University.
Finally, lets be honest, Polytechnic is far too valuable to shut its doors. ASU may want to bow out, but that doesn't mean its a lost cause. The state could run it as a separate university/state college, or perhaps there is someone else looking to open an aerospace focused campus to fit in with the Gateway area.
Just because Crow is crowing doesn't mean the world is coming to an end.
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4 comments:
ASU has plenty of money. Crow doesn't spend it wisely. His bigotry invites a slew of lawsuits. Crow systematically denies tenure to African Americans. He fired other African Americans who came before him. He will not settle EEOC cases that professors win. Example. Fired ASU Prof. Kathryn Milun won her EEOC case. Crow would not settle forcing it into costly litigation. The list goes on ad nausem. Taxpayers foot the bill for lawyers and payouts. Crow carries his bigotry from Columbia where he served as vice provost. He was involved, heavily, in the case of Chichilnisky vs Columbia. Arizona cannot afford Michael Crow. He is the cause of ASUs problems.
What a joke thegreatharriet. You are over blowing the whole crow thing. He has taken ASU to a whole another level academically. Before that, ASU was just a big college that had no push or pull in academics locally or nationally. It has taken huge steps and has changed the mentality of laziness and just being ok with mediocrity. Look at the valley. Low education and is slowly rising due to what he has helped in changing the identity of ASU.
He is not a bigot either. Some of these professors you are talking about should never teach in the educational system no matter what their color is. I had one that was fired because she sucked, was the worst professor I have ever had and was a waste of time. She plagiarized and did other things that should have warrant a firing long before that. She is using her race and sex to sew the school and I hope she does not get a dime. Now you need to stop being the true bigot here.
The committee on academic freedom and tenure found the charges baseless. ASU has a standard for whites and one for blacks. ASU allows Dr. Charles Arntzen to steal a student paper and publish it as his own. See AZ Republic 12/15/04 and Chronicle of Higher Ed 12/17/04. Tell me there is no double standard. This professor has more courage than you will ever have. She was raised in foster care for 18 years and still graduated from college. She battled depression her entire life. Give her a break. ASU certainly did not. I lectured at ASU and found the quality of students to be lacking myself.
Check out my website which advocates reforming the Arizona University System by transforming ASU West & Polytechnic campuses into independent "low-cost" and "medium-cost" state universities.
Click on the following link to view the details: http://PSUandAzTech.blogspot.com
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