University of Minnesota - News & General Topics

[FISHMANPET]

Speaking of connectivity of Super Block, I lived in T-Hall freshman year, right at the end of the new wing (N390, the wall my bed was against was against the stairwell). I was maybe 50 feet as the crow flies away from the lobby, but I had to walk all the way around the building to get in and out every day. Annoying as hell.

[aguaman]

Pfreyre, I bet you'd love this article!

I wouldn't really disagree with you that higher education right now is mid-bubble. That said, when the dust settles, actual schools like the University of Minnesota will still be there. Right now there's an overwhelming (and misguided) desire for everyone everywhere to "go to college", so we've been stretching our definition of college quite a bit. There's a place for liberal arts, there's a place for engineering and medicine, and there's a place for technical schools. Those three things are very different. Right now there are a lot of kids in their early 20s with Anthropology degrees from Moorhead State who are frustrated in the job market, but really people should have told them from the get go that their degree isn't really...a thing.

Which is super elitist and rude to say in casual conversation, but like I said, we created a system where everyone has to "go to college". Most of my degree program (Urban Studies) at the U of M was common sense, but I had to go get in debt to get a piece of paper to prove that I have an interest in it. I don't imagine that the system we have right now will keep going for much longer.

You might be interested in the Itasca Project report here:
http://www.theitascaproject.com/Itasca% ... AL2pdf.pdf
Some very interesting exhibits such as 7 and 4 that relate to this discussion.

[min-chi-cbus]

And now you "have to go to a Graduate program", because if you don't you can't compete with the hundreds of thousands of people who went and got a graduate degree -- even if it didn't make sense financially or for their career aspirations -- while the economy has been soft. So now you have to go into debt another $100K+ just to become a SENIOR Analyst/Developer/Project Manager/etc.!! Gotta love the Rat Race! I really hope I can gather up my nuts just right so to be able to gain the nerve to open my own business someday......and someday soon, at that!!

[Nick]

Pfreyre, I bet you'd love this article!

I wouldn't really disagree with you that higher education right now is mid-bubble. That said, when the dust settles, actual schools like the University of Minnesota will still be there. Right now there's an overwhelming (and misguided) desire for everyone everywhere to "go to college", so we've been stretching our definition of college quite a bit. There's a place for liberal arts, there's a place for engineering and medicine, and there's a place for technical schools. Those three things are very different. Right now there are a lot of kids in their early 20s with Anthropology degrees from Moorhead State who are frustrated in the job market, but really people should have told them from the get go that their degree isn't really...a thing.

Which is super elitist and rude to say in casual conversation, but like I said, we created a system where everyone has to "go to college". Most of my degree program (Urban Studies) at the U of M was common sense, but I had to go get in debt to get a piece of paper to prove that I have an interest in it. I don't imagine that the system we have right now will keep going for much longer.

You might be interested in the Itasca Project report here:
http://www.theitascaproject.com/Itasca% ... AL2pdf.pdf
Some very interesting exhibits such as 7 and 4 that relate to this discussion.

I guess I would disagree with the premise that C+ high school students from the suburbs who are forced to go to some school, any school, by their parents (who don't want to look bad to other suburban parents) and then end up getting a $30,000 degree in sociology from Minnesota State (to then work in a job that really requires almost nothing from that degree) are really "skilled workers".

[Nathan]

Does anybody know (maybe it's posted already) about the lot SE of 16th ave and 4th st? It's been all leveled and everything...

[mulad]

That was the Klaeber Court building (320 16th Avenue SE, I think). One of several buildings the U has torn down in the last year or so. I don't know if there are any plans to do anything with the site -- the regents just decided it wasn't worth maintaining anymore. Disappointing that they went and ripped up all of the trees from the site too.

We need some tree preservation ordinances around here...

[PhilmerPhil]

Are tree preservation ordinances something that even exist in other municipalities? Is it legal for a city to regulate tree removal?

[MNdible]

Not sure if this has been mentioned or not, but the U is looking at reactivating their old Main Steam Plant with a new cogeneration boiler.

There's an F&C story behind a paywall. More documents located here.

[seanrichardryan]

I've always loved that the U essentially runs off of a huge pile of coal hidden in a warehouse below east river road. Ha!

[Nick]

Isn't the Southeast Steam Plant largely powered by oat husks or some such thing? Or at least a little bit? Or by something that isn't oak husks (if those are a thing) but is also biomass? Or some combination of all of the above?

[martykoessel]

This is sorta in reply to all the stuff under the Amundson Hall thread about space needs, height of buildings, etc.

The U's current problem is too much space, or at least too much of the wrong kind of space. For this reason, in the last couple of years, it has knocked down the Music Education Building, Wesbrook Hall, the annex to Eddy Hall, Norris Hall, and Klaeber Court. All except Klaeber Court are in the Knoll area, and all except Klaeber, which is now a parking lot, have been or are being replaced by green space.

The U would also like to renovate Eddy Hall and decommission Williamson Hall and Fraser Hall. Williamson would vanish (no loss), and I believe that I read somewhere that at least the historic portion of Fraser would be mothballed. Let's just hope they don't end throwing out too many babies with the bathwater.

The need for science and technology space appears to be a different story. On top of the Nanotechnology Building, the Biomedical Research District, the conversion of the Mayo Garage to lab space, and the addition to and renovation of Amundson Hall, a block and a half to the east of Territorial and Frontier Halls has been purchased by the U and cleared for a new Academic Health Center.

There's lots of land left for science and technology expansion in the Biomedical Discovery District, and particularly because Moos Tower, the one existing experience of a tall building on the East Bank, has left a bad taste in the mouth, I doubt that the U has much need or desire to build high.

Mechanical Engineering could use the same sort of renovation done to Akerman Hall and Shepherd would look a lot better with a touch of landscaping and replacement of the mismatched brick on the first floor with windows. Who knows.

Moreover, I'd guess the Field House, which believe it or not used to be an aircraft hangar in Washington State and has a really big footprint, is not long for this world. It contains tennis courts, basketball courts, and a running track. The Baseline Tennis Center has indoor courts, and new outside courts were just added across 5th Street. The Recreation Center expansion, now under construction, will include an indoor running track and a couple of basketball courts. Since the Field House must cost a fortune to maintain and heat, it's hard to imagine the U keeping it going much after the Rec Center expansion is completed.

In short, too little space for buildings on the East Bank is NOT the U's problem.

This link gives some insight into the U's thinking on its space needs: http://www1.umn.edu/regents/docket/2012/june/space.pdf

[martykoessel]

I might be wrong about the Field House. It has 4 basketball courts and a running track, not just the jogging track that will be in the new Rec Center. It's rented our for a lot of special events, too.

[MNdible]

Yeah, they need a track for the Indoor Track and Field teams. Pretty sure (although not completely sure) that the Rec Center isn't designed for that.

[martykoessel]

Here's more from an article published last November. It mentions Fraser being mothballed and does list the Field House on the possible teardown list. Hmm.
http://www.mndaily.com/2011/11/09/u-buildings-blacklist

[nordeast homer]

Should the state give the U $1.1 billion dollars in order to freeze tuition for 2 years?

Where oh where do I begin? I understand that tuition has gone up dramatically over the last decade or so, but, as I recall, going to college is a privilege not a right. Second of all; maybe the U should stop the building boom and look after it's students for a change. Third of all; how about looking at all the pork within the U system and cut some internal costs, pay professors what they are worth, (quite a bit less than what they get paid), outsource some of the staff that is union, (we're paying double what the market is in some positions). Tighten your freaking belts before you come begging for more money. They spend money like a 10 year old with a credit card.

I'm sick and tired of institutions like the U trying to look like heroes when all they are doing is taking money out of our pockets to do what they should be doing on their own in the first place!!!

Comments?

[mplsjaromir]

Do you have a link to a news story? I have not heard anything about this.

[nordeast homer]

I don't, but it was front page of the Strib this morning.

[mplsjaromir]

According to the article on $14.2 million is set aside for a tuition freeze. The $1.1 billion dollars is for the state to fund the university for two years. Your initial question is misleading.

Do I think an organization should try to be more efficient? Yes.

[MNdible]

According to the article on $14.2 million is set aside for a tuition freeze. The $1.1 billion dollars is for the state to fund the university for two years. Your initial question is misleading.

Yes, the question should really be, "Should the state give the U $28.4 million dollars to freeze tuition for 2 years?"

And I'd say, yes. The state has slashed it's support for higher education over the last several decades, and especially over the last 5 years. It's a common good for the state to support this, and it's a wise investment in the state's future.

After early childhood education, very few things will give you a higher return on a state's investment that funding a robust research university.

[mplsjaromir]

Actually if I read the article correctly it was $14.2 over the biannual.