Texas A&M Is One Step Closer

[Harry]

Texas A&M University is one step closer to obtaining a law school and a health-related institution following action today by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB).

“I am pleased that progress continues in moving the Texas A&M Health Science Center under the administration of our flagship university, as well as in delivering the first public law school in north Texas,” said John Sharp, chancellor of The Texas A&M University System. “Both of these developments will have significant advantages for the state of Texas as we move forward.”

Texas A&M received approval to offer a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree with a major in law at Texas Wesleyan University beginning in fall 2014. In June 2012, Texas A&M and Texas Wesleyan agreed to a letter of intent through which the Fort Worth institution would become known as Texas A&M University School of Law at Texas Wesleyan University.

In addition, Texas A&M received approval to offer six doctoral programs currently under the Texas A&M Health Science Center as a next step in the proposed realignment of the institution into the university.

Read more: http://tamutimes.tamu.edu/2013/01/24/texas-am-is-one-step-closer-to-obtaining-law-and-health-related-schools/

[keith]

WTF? So, now we know.

Edited January 25, 2013 by keith

[DeepGreen]

That's what good leadership can do for a University.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

Still love that Govenor we have ... from A&M.??

[DeepGreen]

Still love that Govenor we have ... from A&M.??

You don't think the Governor had some influence on this, do you? (insert sarcasm) Got to wonder if aTm got the idea for a Public Med School in the North Texas region from good ole UNT.

[Harry]

I'll be the first to admit that I don't have a good knowledge of all this but...

From what I am reading, TAMU is able to beat us to the punch for 1st public law school in "North Texas" because Wesleyan is already a functioning law school...

They are still not located in "Dallas" but it certainly complicates things and takes some of the luster off of what we were hoping to have.

Unless I am missing something (cue GL2G8Ness) this appears to be a setback for Lee Jackson and UNT Law.

[GL2Greatness]

You don't think the Governor had some influence on this, do you? (insert sarcasm) Got to wonder if aTm got the idea for a Public Med School in the North Texas region from good ole UNT.

Actually the TAMU program in dallas is just 3rd and 4th year residents not a full medical school their students will still have to do their first two years of school in Bryan or Temple

and the merger of Baylor and Scott and White (the Temple facility that has the TAMU medical school) was one of the big reasons for TAMU expanding and another reason was the major Baylor facility expansion in dallas and the prestige that comes with being a teaching hospital and also the legal issues that UTSW had with residents being unsupervised and billing issues that lead to some law suits......Baylor wanted to distance from that and reached out to TAMU

[FirefightnRick]

TAMU is able to beat us to the punch for 1st public law school in "North Texas" because Wesleyan is already a functioning law school...

.

Nope. In the early 2000's North Texas was approached with an oportunity purchase Weslayan's law school but we turned them down because the BOR thought $22 Million was too much.

I bet your boy Lee has spent a fourth of that just getting his shiny new office repainted and furnished.

Rick

Edited January 27, 2013 by FirefightnRick

[UNTLifer]

Once again, Lee Jackson should be fired !

[PlummMeanGreen]

Also, while we were sitting around bragging how great we are and what our "potential" is, TSU-SM went ahead of UNT by about $10 millioin in school endowment coffers fund-raising. Someone needs to wake up because we are getting schooled once again by some we should not be being school by.

And the TAMU System? When did TAMU start competing with UNT? They didn't. And we are not going to start competing with TAMU, either. An 1870's Texas legislature made all this possible when UT and TAMU were given all that land which turned into quite the chicken salad of the states oil reserves which translated into the Permanant University Fund, while the rest of us not in either of their systems were given the chicken caca.

I think UNT does have a bright future and I really mean that as sure as the turning of the earth, but sometimes you just need new miners to get on the mountain to mine for the gold we all know is there. That's all I am going to say on the subject for now because I've stated that opinion in another thread weeks ago. Funny how social invites to UNT gala events and functions have slowed down dramatically since I posted that thread! }:>)

Now I am concerned if UNT having a 73 year old main campus president could be holding us back compared to other schools who seem to be passing us by. Most gents at age 73 if still working are mostly just tending to the store (so to speak), or well into their retirements and if in our state getting their state of Texas retirement benefit checks and for certain going to church more often.

GMG!

Edited January 26, 2013 by PlummMeanGreen

[GL2Greatness]

Also, while we were sitting around bragging how great we are and what our "potential" is, TSU-SM went ahead of UNT by about $10 millioin in school endowment coffers fund-raising. Someone needs to wake up because we are getting schooled once again by some we should not be being school by.

And the TAMU System? When did TAMU start competing with UNT? They didn't. And we are not going to start competing with TAMU, either. An 1870's Texas legislature made all this possible when UT and TAMU were given all that land which turned into quite the chicken salad of the states oil reserves which translated into the Permanant University Fund, while the rest of us not in either of their systems were given the chicken caca.

I think UNT does have a bright future and I really mean that as sure as the turning of the earth, but sometimes you just need new miners to get on the mountain to mine for the gold we all know is there. That's all I am going to say on the subject for now because I've stated that opinion in another thread weeks ago. Funny how social invites to UNT gala events and functions have slowed down dramatically since I posted that thread! }:>)

Now I am concerned if UNT having a 73 year old main campus president could be holding us back compared to other schools who seem to be passing us by. Most gents at age 73 if still working are mostly just tending to the store (so to speak), or well into their retirements and if in our state getting their state of Texas retirement benefit checks and for certain going to church more often.

GMG!

I brought this up when he was hired and was roasted for it

lets look at the reality.....VLR is not so much "athletics friendly" as he is athletics tolerant......when he was at WSU they had issues with him and Mike Price because VLR did not want football coaches making more than top level administrators

what has VLR done since he has been here......there is the student union plan that is good as far as the union itself goes, but that was very poorly handled in terms of the fashion program and one other program being moved to temp shacks in the middle of campus

he took away the long term plan that had specific goals spelled out and replaced it with a new tag line, swag bags, and cold hotdogs and "goals" that are just plain stupid.......and if you look at where north Texas is as far as restricted research and the goals that were spelled out clearly in the Dr. B plan they are well behind the goals for each year and actually losing ground

enrollment took a dip when pretty much every university in the state was growing and after that one year dip they have not gained back to where they were before the dip

tuition was raised to hire more faculty.....because of the enrollment dip there was a one year wait to hire those new faculty.....but the tuition increase was still collected of course and the decline in enrollment was less than 1,000 students total out of what was just over 36K students at the time

inability to convince the BOR to increase admissions requirements VS the take all warm bodies approach so we can cover "system" initiatives in dallas

every emerging research university in Texas except north Texas and UTA have an on going capital campaign

north Texas has been near the bottom each year for matching TRIP funds

there was talk on here about a big September capital campaign announcement......came and went nothing happened......the hotdog warmer must have been broken

the bill lively disaster falls squarely on lee the idiot, but that is part of the issue of having a system that runs the universities in the system out of the chancellors office instead of the university presidents office

I see little chance that any significant plans for the future will be formulated under VLR and I see little chance that any significant capital campaign will be started because about the time those plans were in place he would surely be looking to step down and who wants to come in and lead a "major" university while following the plan of the last guy....which is why north Texas (and lee the idiot) hires yes men and yes women for president so the system can continue to micro manage while the president just goes along with it

I was concerned that the Dr. B hiring was a "yes man" hire based on her resume.....she was a "system" administrator for the UNC system and was the acting chancellor (president) for a small arts component of the system so she had never been the president of a major research university and the only president (chancellor for them) position she had held was temp and for a small arts component and other than that she was a "system" coordinator basically

She was somewhat better than I expected because she at least showed she wanted to lead and not follow and she wanted the Denton campus to be the leader not the deep pockets and financier for stupid system ideas.....I don't agree with some of her ideas though like the Peas Studies degree (make mine super size with a coke please) or giving full scholarships to C students, but she CLEARLY saw through the lee idiot jackson attempts to use the Denton campus as the cash cow and bond backer for the dallas projects and that is what the conflict was really about.....so she was gone

then comes VLR......a guy that was retired and is 73 years old......university presidents often only stay around 5-6 years at the most and VLR is looking at about 2.25 years "on the job" now...so he is either going to get on the ball soon and come up with some long term plans, a capital campaign, and actually get something done

one "plan" from 2006 that was for 2008-2013 is set to expire and the Dr. B plan that was for 2011-2020 is still out there, but not a great deal of that appears to be happening and what is happening is missing the goals and missing bigger every year

the number of PhD programs and masters programs has been cut dramatically (as was needed) to realign faculty positions to new degree programs, but those new degree programs and faculty hires are not happening and the Bioengineering concept seems to have been scrapped fully and the Mechanical and Energy Engineering programs still cannot gain ABET accreditation for the undergrad program (and has finally left some students with degrees that will not be ABET accredited even retroactively) so really can they afford to start a PhD program in that field when they can't even get the undergrad portion under control and accredited

so if things go as averages go VLR will be around about 2.75 more years and probably nothing of real significance will happen in that time if things hold true to form.......and if something "major" happens or is planned it will be dumped in the lap of the next guy

if things do not go as average then VLR will are around until he is 78+ years old and who knows what will happen or not happen in that time period......if nothing of significance like a capital campaign or a strategic plan with goals that can actually be met comes out then it is probably 5+ years wasted for Denton under VLR right at a very critical time with TRIP and NRUF going on and other universities holding capital campaigns and the state budget starting to stabilize again and other universities making major moves for law, medical, and other professional programs

and if VLR does crank out some plan or campaign over the next year will he really stay around to see it start to take shape and will he really be able to get it to take shape or will north Texas again be faced with hiring a president for a "major university" that has the task of coming in and taking over someone elses "four bold goals" or whatever the new plan or campaign will be called.........does anyone really want a presidents position where you are basically running someone elses playbook......I doubt anyone decent wants that task.....but someone looking to collect a check might be up for it......hopefully the organization that VLR was working with when they got VLR will have another retired guy that has decided he might want to "work" a few more years ready to step in

[meangreener]

I brought this up when he was hired and was roasted for it

lets look at the reality.....VLR is not so much "athletics friendly" as he is athletics tolerant......when he was at WSU they had issues with him and Mike Price because VLR did not want football coaches making more than top level administrators

what has VLR done since he has been here......there is the student union plan that is good as far as the union itself goes, but that was very poorly handled in terms of the fashion program and one other program being moved to temp shacks in the middle of campus

he took away the long term plan that had specific goals spelled out and replaced it with a new tag line, swag bags, and cold hotdogs and "goals" that are just plain stupid.......and if you look at where north Texas is as far as restricted research and the goals that were spelled out clearly in the Dr. B plan they are well behind the goals for each year and actually losing ground

enrollment took a dip when pretty much every university in the state was growing and after that one year dip they have not gained back to where they were before the dip

tuition was raised to hire more faculty.....because of the enrollment dip there was a one year wait to hire those new faculty.....but the tuition increase was still collected of course and the decline in enrollment was less than 1,000 students total out of what was just over 36K students at the time

inability to convince the BOR to increase admissions requirements VS the take all warm bodies approach so we can cover "system" initiatives in dallas

every emerging research university in Texas except north Texas and UTA have an on going capital campaign

north Texas has been near the bottom each year for matching TRIP funds

there was talk on here about a big September capital campaign announcement......came and went nothing happened......the hotdog warmer must have been broken

the bill lively disaster falls squarely on lee the idiot, but that is part of the issue of having a system that runs the universities in the system out of the chancellors office instead of the university presidents office

I see little chance that any significant plans for the future will be formulated under VLR and I see little chance that any significant capital campaign will be started because about the time those plans were in place he would surely be looking to step down and who wants to come in and lead a "major" university while following the plan of the last guy....which is why north Texas (and lee the idiot) hires yes men and yes women for president so the system can continue to micro manage while the president just goes along with it

I was concerned that the Dr. B hiring was a "yes man" hire based on her resume.....she was a "system" administrator for the UNC system and was the acting chancellor (president) for a small arts component of the system so she had never been the president of a major research university and the only president (chancellor for them) position she had held was temp and for a small arts component and other than that she was a "system" coordinator basically

She was somewhat better than I expected because she at least showed she wanted to lead and not follow and she wanted the Denton campus to be the leader not the deep pockets and financier for stupid system ideas.....I don't agree with some of her ideas though like the Peas Studies degree (make mine super size with a coke please) or giving full scholarships to C students, but she CLEARLY saw through the lee idiot jackson attempts to use the Denton campus as the cash cow and bond backer for the dallas projects and that is what the conflict was really about.....so she was gone

then comes VLR......a guy that was retired and is 73 years old......university presidents often only stay around 5-6 years at the most and VLR is looking at about 2.25 years "on the job" now...so he is either going to get on the ball soon and come up with some long term plans, a capital campaign, and actually get something done

one "plan" from 2006 that was for 2008-2013 is set to expire and the Dr. B plan that was for 2011-2020 is still out there, but not a great deal of that appears to be happening and what is happening is missing the goals and missing bigger every year

the number of PhD programs and masters programs has been cut dramatically (as was needed) to realign faculty positions to new degree programs, but those new degree programs and faculty hires are not happening and the Bioengineering concept seems to have been scrapped fully and the Mechanical and Energy Engineering programs still cannot gain ABET accreditation for the undergrad program (and has finally left some students with degrees that will not be ABET accredited even retroactively) so really can they afford to start a PhD program in that field when they can't even get the undergrad portion under control and accredited

so if things go as averages go VLR will be around about 2.75 more years and probably nothing of real significance will happen in that time if things hold true to form.......and if something "major" happens or is planned it will be dumped in the lap of the next guy

if things do not go as average then VLR will are around until he is 78+ years old and who knows what will happen or not happen in that time period......if nothing of significance like a capital campaign or a strategic plan with goals that can actually be met comes out then it is probably 5+ years wasted for Denton under VLR right at a very critical time with TRIP and NRUF going on and other universities holding capital campaigns and the state budget starting to stabilize again and other universities making major moves for law, medical, and other professional programs

and if VLR does crank out some plan or campaign over the next year will he really stay around to see it start to take shape and will he really be able to get it to take shape or will north Texas again be faced with hiring a president for a "major university" that has the task of coming in and taking over someone elses "four bold goals" or whatever the new plan or campaign will be called.........does anyone really want a presidents position where you are basically running someone elses playbook......I doubt anyone decent wants that task.....but someone looking to collect a check might be up for it......hopefully the organization that VLR was working with when they got VLR will have another retired guy that has decided he might want to "work" a few more years ready to step in

tl;dr

Seriously though, I think you need mental help.

Oh, and

[GreenMachine]

I brought this up when he was hired and was roasted for it

You get roasted for so many reasons you *°:-P <}!!!!

[wardly]

Nope. In the early 2000's North Texas was approached with an oportunity purchase Weslayan's law school but we turned them down because the BOR thought $22 Million was too much.

I bet your boy Lee has spent a fourth of that just getting his shiny new office repainted and furnished.

Rick

Rick, I will defer to your better memory, but I think that we offered TWU $12M but they had second thoughts and decided not to sell. I'm sure someone with greater computer skills than I have could clairfy.Regardless,as a taxpayer I see no reason for a 2nd public law school in DFW since graduating lawyers are having a hard time finding jobs.Too many pigs,not enough teets.

[3XNTGRAD]

Rick, I will defer to your better memory, but I think that we offered TWU $12M but they had second thoughts and decided not to sell. I'm sure someone with greater computer skills than I have could clairfy.Regardless,as a taxpayer I see no reason for a 2nd public law school in DFW since graduating lawyers are having a hard time finding jobs.Too many pigs,not enough teets.

http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2003/04/14/daily15.html

[DeepGreen]

I'm not going to re-post GL2Greatness' quote, but he seems to have pretty much nailed it. UNT is in another lull. What did happen to that capital campaign and all the hoopla regarding Tier 1 status? Is that still happening?

University of North Texas has terrible leadership now, at a time when we should be moving up in the world of academia and stature. I really question what is going on up in Denton. Could it be that this effects our reputation, and recruiting in sports? Maybe.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

Nope. In the early 2000's North Texas was approached with an oportunity purchase Weslayan's law school but we turned them down because the BOR thought $22 Million was too much.

I bet your boy Lee has spent a fourth of that just getting his shiny new office repainted and furnished.

Rick

.

I have been told the same... by my son who has a law degree from there.

.

[KRAM1]

I'm not going to re-post GL2Greatness' quote, but he seems to have pretty much nailed it. UNT is in another lull. What did happen to that capital campaign and all the hoopla regarding Tier 1 status? Is that still happening?

Indeed it is.

[Greenrex]

Law school applications are headed for a 30-year low, reflecting increased concern over soaring tuition,

crushing student debt, and diminishing prospects of lucrative employment upon graduation.

Article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/31/education/law-schools-applications-fall-as-costs-rise-and-jobs-are-cut.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130131&_r=0

[wardly]

http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2003/04/14/daily15.html

Thanks Diamond Eagle.

[FirefightnRick]

Rick, I will defer to your better memory, but I think that we offered TWU $12M but they had second thoughts and decided not to sell. I'm sure someone with greater computer skills than I have could clairfy.Regardless,as a taxpayer I see no reason for a 2nd public law school in DFW since graduating lawyers are having a hard time finding jobs.Too many pigs,not enough teets.

We may have offered them $12 Mil, but I was told by two current BOR members at the time that Weslayan wanted $22 Mil. And here it is, 10 years later and that's just about what they got.

At the time, we had two FF's going through their program, and TWU Law reportedly had one of the state's highest BAR passing rates so it was on it's way to a good start. Not only were they an already established program but they had a nice facility downtown to go along with it. I know because I worked part time saving money to get married by hanging the sprinkler pipe through the building where it is located.

I'd be interested to see if by today's standards you could even buy that building as an empty shell for $22 Mil?

All around, A&M got a great deal.

Rick