The future of that institution is grim.
http://www.ohio.com/news/education/ua-bracing-for-20-mill... A merger with Kent State, as shocking as it sounds, seems like a reasonable conclusion to the mess in a matter of not too many years. Would give Kent State a law school, strong polymer program and essentially a downtown campus while eliminating administrative bloat, the cost of running two of everything (including athletics) and other benefits. Sounds insane, but Akron seems like it's in a death spiral.
I hope they come through it, because a loss of the school as a standalone institution would be devastating to a city and region that don't need more kicks in the balls.
Governor Rhodes proposed such a merger way back when. It probably should have happened at that time. As I recall the proposed new name was Northeastern Ohio University. That, of course, was when it was merger of two schools on even terms. Now, I think, it would more likely be KSU swallowing up what's left of UA. I personally think that this is not a bad idea as it would immediately reduce overhead by eliminating duplication in administrative positions as well as some duplicative faculty position. And, in athletics, the cost would be cut drastically, because you'd be fielding just one football team and one basketball team. You might actually be able with those saving to field a few additional teams in the non-revenue sports. All and all, it seems like a win-win to me, but I suspect the UA alumni base would fight such a proposal tooth and nail. Is that true, SBH?
On a personal note, I had some experience last year dealing with KSU-Ashtabula in the placing of an historical marker at the boyhood home of Albion Tourgée in Kingsville. I found everyone very cooperative and the when we had to get permission from the main campus for a KSU logo on the marker we had a real minimum of red tape to go through. I was actually quite impressed. It seems to me from my limited experience that KSU is run by some quality folks. In case you don't know who Albion Tourgée was, and are interested in such historical matters, you can take a look at his Wikipedia page:
http://tinyurl.com/zlloxkr This includes a small photo of the historical marker, for which yours truly wrote the copy.
Last Edited: 6/5/2016 9:52:27 PM by OhioCatFan