“The Future of Flagship Universities”
One of the many reasons I opposed the bastards at SMS stealing the Missouri State name is that I believe that leads down a road that ultimately harms higher education for Missourians. By giving ‘equal names’, they’ve created two allegedly equal universities in the eyes of most citizens, and more importantly most legislators, when by all reasonable standards MU is the premier (public) education institution in the state.
To quote a high-ranking MU official, “You invest in us and it will pay. If you lump us in with those who are not our peers, water down our identity and obscure our reputation, everyone loses.”
Here’s a commencement address to Texas A&M students by Robert Berdahl, Chancellor of UC-Berkely and former President of UT-Austin dealing with the issue of poor state planning and the potential result for flagship universities.