(06-08-2015 04:18 PM)vabearcat Wrote:  

(06-08-2015 09:37 AM)indycat Wrote:  Politicians begat any number of public universities and they'll be the first to scream when these schools are eliminated or merged in such a way that their local identity is lost. I believe the family tree for Shawnee State can be traced to a long serving state legislator from that sparsely populated corner of Ohio. There is a furor even when a university tries to eliminate a single academic department, including ones that duplicate programs offered all over the state.

It's similar to closing an unneeded military base; every member of Congress wants to reduce spending--until it's in their district. I'll be shocked if Ohio ever executes such a bold plan.

Shawnee State owes its origins to former Ohio House Speaker Vern Riffe, who represented rural, south central Ohio for over two decades. It is the also the rural area that was represented in the Ohio Senate by State Senator Myrl Shoemaker, after whom UC's basketball arena is named and whose son, Mick, played on the Bearcat basketball teams under former coach Gale Catlett.

vabearcat--thanks for adding to the history on Shawnee State. Having said that, I probably have mixed feelings on the issue of how many state universities are appropriate for Ohio. Under served or economically challenged parts of any state are strengthened by having accessible, moderately priced higher education. I still like California's model: the University of California schools being top tier academic and research campuses; the Cal State system being focused on undergraduate teaching.