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Given the amount of research being done at UAB, it seems like they should be considered. AAU membership, especially at a large university with good athletic teams, is desirable for conferences that want to expand. Tulane is an AAU member, but they are a small school, with limited growth ability of their fan base. If in the next 5 or 10 years Notre Dame becomes a full ACC member, there will be a need for a 16th team. The Big 12 might expand sooner. For UAB's sake, a delay in conference shifts accompanied by AAU membership and resurgent football program would be a plus.

You won't find anyone here arguing against it.

About ten years ago we approached them to see what we needed
Our undergraduate was the lower part of third quartile at a bare minimum need to be middle of 2nd quartile. Our research volumn was ok but the breath was too concentrated in medical field even our other STEM was poorly rated for graduate school

"About 10 years ago"

Maybe Watts should focus his efforts on doing what it takes to qualify UAB for AAU membership. It would be a better legacy than the one he has achieved to date.

(08-03-2015 01:13 PM)Ramblin Wreck Wrote:  "About 10 years ago"

Maybe Watts should focus his efforts on doing what it takes to qualify UAB for AAU membership. It would be a better legacy than the one he has achieved to date.

Hence why it won't happen under his watch, maybe the next president will be more willing to put UAB in a positive light

(08-03-2015 01:13 PM)Ramblin Wreck Wrote:  "About 10 years ago"

Maybe Watts should focus his efforts on doing what it takes to qualify UAB for AAU membership. It would be a better legacy than the one he has achieved to date.

Step one is the resignation of Ray Watts, visionary failure.

UAB's undergraduate side is a dumpster fire, essentially, when it comes to graduation rates and retention. That's why UAB isn't in the AAU. Of course just when Carol Garrison was focusing on it she was fired and they hired someone who wants to gut that side of campus, so, here's an example of how screwing the west side of campus is screwing the east side of campus.

I remember a while back someone highlighted this problem when an article was linked about GT getting AAU membership.

What kind of things were Garrison doing or, better yet, what are some of the actions necessary to counteract those issues? I could see a lot of these problems being exacerbated by lower funding, and current trends so I could see a more macro oriented approach.

Any theories why ungrad performs so poorly (without blaming Watts)?

(08-04-2015 04:24 AM)Agent Orange Sauce Wrote:  Any theories why ungrad performs so poorly (without blaming Watts)?

Watts is to blame for many ills, but this one pre-dates him. I think it goes back to UAB's very founding, with questionable hires to staff up the early university in the 70's who then stayed for 30+ years with tenure and set in place a faculty culture of laziness rather than one of excellence: meet the classes you have to (or send grad assistants or, in one department, near-minimum-wage tutors), publish just enough for tenure, then kick back. UAB came to the mass use of adjuncts earlier than most universities, and some of them don't need to be teaching canine college, but they don't set the tone. UAB is a very toxic workplace on the west side.

Garrison tried to clean it out by sending in Jean Linney, but Linney failed (she was "not congenial," which translates to, "called them lazy failures to their face") and I still think faculty whining was at least as important to Garrison's ouster as the stadium issue.

(08-04-2015 05:42 AM)58-56 Wrote:  

(08-04-2015 04:24 AM)Agent Orange Sauce Wrote:  Any theories why ungrad performs so poorly (without blaming Watts)?

Watts is to blame for many ills, but this one pre-dates him. I think it goes back to UAB's very founding, with questionable hires to staff up the early university in the 70's who then stayed for 30+ years with tenure and set in place a faculty culture of laziness rather than one of excellence: meet the classes you have to (or send grad assistants or, in one department, near-minimum-wage tutors), publish just enough for tenure, then kick back. UAB came to the mass use of adjuncts earlier than most universities, and some of them don't need to be teaching canine college, but they don't set the tone. UAB is a very toxic workplace on the west side.

Garrison tried to clean it out by sending in Jean Linney, but Linney failed (she was "not congenial," which translates to, "called them lazy failures to their face") and I still think faculty whining was at least as important to Garrison's ouster as the stadium issue.

It's been five years since undergrad, but a lot of my professors were hacks, especially those in the humanities and arts. Even in the business school, a few of the professors were barely qualified, and it seemed like teaching was the back-up plan because they failed at their "real" jobs. Of course, I had many great professors as well, but several of those were snatched up by larger universities. One professor who was actually talented at teaching (a novel concept for most professors) went to the University of Chicago, which is essentially the mecca for his field. Basically, the best talent leaves, and the ones who stay usually don't have better options. That's a gross generalization, but it's apparently more true than false if the rankings are to be believed.

Regarding research, I would assume we're almost solely focused on STEM and medical research at the graduate level. I would guess that has to do with lack of leadership, but also the lack of tenure-track professors at the undergrad level who are committed to research, which I guess takes more money (for both the research and for keeping talent).

Also, our graduation and freshman retention rates are not great. I think just by virtue of being in the largest city in Alabama, we get a ton of freshman who come to UAB because it's the easy, local choice, then they transfer out. Same sentiment applies to the overall graduation rate. Students feel obligated to go to college, so they choose the local, public university when a four-year program may not have been the best option in the first place.

For UAB, it's the trade-off between growing the student population and being more selective. Not impossible to do both, but it's not easy.

(08-04-2015 05:42 AM)58-56 Wrote:  

(08-04-2015 04:24 AM)Agent Orange Sauce Wrote:  Any theories why ungrad performs so poorly (without blaming Watts)?

Watts is to blame for many ills, but this one pre-dates him. I think it goes back to UAB's very founding, with questionable hires to staff up the early university in the 70's who then stayed for 30+ years with tenure and set in place a faculty culture of laziness rather than one of excellence: meet the classes you have to (or send grad assistants or, in one department, near-minimum-wage tutors), publish just enough for tenure, then kick back. UAB came to the mass use of adjuncts earlier than most universities, and some of them don't need to be teaching canine college, but they don't set the tone. UAB is a very toxic workplace on the west side.

Garrison tried to clean it out by sending in Jean Linney, but Linney failed (she was "not congenial," which translates to, "called them lazy failures to their face") and I still think faculty whining was at least as important to Garrison's ouster as the stadium issue.

Faculty revolt also doomed Linney's successor (hand-picked by Garrison, of course) who ended up moving to North Dakota, so I definitely wouldn't say you're wrong.

If you wish to work in K-12 education, you must take courses designed to teach you methods and strategies to reach even the most difficult students. If you wish to teach in any Post Secondary school, all of this training on how to teach is considered a waste of time and only course work in your field is considered important. That may help explain the "hacks" that so many P-S students complain about.

When my children's mother got her MA in History (UAB) in 1979, the state refused to increase her pay for the degree because it was not in "Education" even though she taught History at Pell City HS full time. Now had she applied for a P-S job, her education courses would have been considered irrelevant and only the MA in History would have been considered.

Difference between K-12 and P-S also extend into the classroom. A K-12 teacher who gets great results and their students make good grades is considered a "good teacher". A P-S professor, on the other hand, who has similar success is likely to lose his job or fail to advance in his department. When the Dean of the Auburn Sociology school had a 100% passing rate on an assignment in independent study, he was stripped of his office and reduced in pay. In P-S, 25% to 30% failure rate is considered "good" and upholding of the school's standards. That rate in K-12 will get you fired as incompetent.