University construction

[godanesgo99]

 

Thanks, and no worries- I get it, and I agree—lots of folks don't think enough about their degree needing to make some sense for what they're after.

Either way, I agree that its been way easier to explain Albany to people by mentioning the basketball and even lacrosse teams. It really does make a difference when someone has a flicker of recognition from that as opposed to just saying: "Never heard of it. Must be cold up there."

I was traveling across Florida last week...a few days in Orlando with the kids and the rest in West Palm. No less then 3 people, one in Orlando and two in West Palm (over a course of a week) asked me where I was from. When I told them Albany, NY all three mentioned to me the UCONN game. I was floored...one of them also mentioned the Florida game a few years back. All of them knew that our mascot was a great dane. I chatted up one guy who worked at the front desk where I was staying, he mentioned several times that he keeps seeing us in the March Madness...asked me if our league was that bad or we are that good. LOL...our name is out there folks!

 

 

Stories like this and the one I shared above need to be shared with every single person that complains about money going towards athletics at a college.

 

All degrees are exactly the same (a professor doesn't stand in front of a room saying "Oh no, I can't teach you that - you would have to go to Harvard to learn that"). The things that increase the value of one degree over another is how recognizable the name of the school is. Athletics is an easy way to increase that name recognition. We won't be an IVY anytime soon - so Athletics is what will add name recognition to our degrees.

[madDOG]

Athletics is marketing, and if you don't believe that it's necessary for UA to be marketing itself then you're naive...or an idiot, plain and simple.

 

The school doesn't exist in a vacuum. It can't simply be a university for students who reside in New York State. Why? Because students in NYS are also interested in schools in Michigan, Virginia, Massachusetts, Delaware, Maryland, Vermont, etc. The only way UA can compete and grow is to attract out-of-state students, and the only way to effectively communicate its value proposition to a national audience is through athletics! If you put a price on the amount of exposure we've received over the past 10 years, it would probably be 20-30x more than what we've spent on athletics. That's what we would call "positive ROI" folks.

 

I know I'm preaching to the choir

[Jammaster]

Just all the ESPN exposure from lacrosse and basketball this past season alone...

 

Between Hooley's overall story and Blaze running back that goal..I can't imagine what that would calculate to in advertising dollars. Probably millions.

[Clickclack]

The cash value of the exposure from the Hooley shot and his personal journey is worth millions. Our name was plastered on ESPN for two days or so...still boggles the mind.

[Eli]

Two days? We were in SC like a week later if I recall lol. That shot put Albany firmly on the map of anyone who remotely resembles a 'regular' sports fan (by regular I mean someone who knows and follows sports in a general sense).

[UAalum72]

New director for the biomed complex on the East Campus

 

http://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-local/article/UAlbany-s-East-Campus-gets-a-new-leader-looks-to-6467937.php

 

The state University at Albany's biomedical complex in East Greenbush is in for some changes, starting with the hiring of a new executive tasked with growing the program and setting up partnerships with other health centers throughout the state.

In her role as vice president for health sciences and biomedical initiatives, Laura Schweitzer will work to link the UAlbany complex, known as the East Campus, with local and state health industry players including Albany Medical Center, the state Department of Health and Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

Schweitzer had just retired after six years as president of Schenectady's Union Graduate College, where she launched a merger with Clarkson University.

Expansion of the East Campus is just one of several moves that UAlbany President Robert Jones is making to offer more of what he says are the kind of in-demand programs that students want, but which the school hasn't historically offered.

"The University at Albany did not offer the suite, the breadth and the depth of academic programs that students want these days," Jones said Wednesday in a telephone interview.

"Science, technology, biomedical programs are what a large percentage of our students are interested in pursuing," he said. "You've got to think about growing the programs where there is high demand."

Jones said he believes the school's liberal arts curriculum needs to be kept strong, but even those programs are being viewed as potential entry points to the workplace. Homeland security operations, for example, recruit heavily from the ranks of anthropology majors, he said.

In addition to boosting the biomedical programs, UAlbany is seeking state approval for a new engineering college at its downtown campus, starting with computer engineering.

"You can't really have a world-class university without having a school of engineering,'' Jones said, adding the full-scale school will likely develop over the next few decades.

UAlbany is also offering courses in what will become the state's first school of emergency preparedness and cyber security, which was sought by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Jones came to UAlbany in January 2013. He said he believes the school needs to grow its enrollment in order to thrive.

During a speech in April, Jones said UAlbany's enrollment has fallen by about 1,000 students over the last eight years. The school enrolls about 17,300 students, down from 18,100 in 2008.

[GreatDanes06]

Next phase is to get people to say the city correctly. Not Al-bany!

[Eli]

Sharing another story...

 

I got a new UA hat that I've been rocking all weekend.

 

On my flight from Chicago Midway to SeaTac I sat next to a young woman and her significant other. Didn't talk the whole flight. When we landed in Seattle, as we're all getting our stuff together, she turns to me and says, "You go there now or are you an alum?" Turns out she's an alum herself living in Chicago now. Hasn't been back in years but knew of our sports success lately, Hooley, etc.

 

Let's see who's attention I can get with the hat on the way back to Albany today.

[MRSGDG]

Sharing another story...

 

I got a new UA hat that I've been rocking all weekend.

 

On my flight from Chicago Midway to SeaTac I sat next to a young woman and her significant other. Didn't talk the whole flight. When we landed in Seattle, as we're all getting our stuff together, she turns to me and says, "You go there now or are you an alum?" Turns out she's an alum herself living in Chicago now. Hasn't been back in years but knew of our sports success lately, Hooley, etc.

 

Let's see who's attention I can get with the hat on the way back to Albany today.

 

Awesome!

[madDOG]

An indoor practice facility under construction at Bryant collapsed this morning. Several people hurt but no one killed thankfully

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/facility-being-built-at-rhode-island-university-collapses/2015/09/01/e87ebfcc-50b1-11e5-b225-90edbd49f362_story.html

[Eli]

So, I got an email the other day from the school that read as follows:

"The Campus Center’s new east addition will open Monday, September 7th! You can view hours for all dining options, including the new east addition, here. Additionally, you can review frequently asked questions about the new east addition and the impact of construction on other dining options here."

 

(I put the links in here so ya'll can read them too)

[madDOG]

So, I got an email the other day from the school that read as follows:

 

"The Campus Center’s new east addition will open Monday, September 7th! You can view hours for all dining options, including the new east addition, here. Additionally, you can review frequently asked questions about the new east addition and the impact of construction on other dining options here."

 

(I put the links in here so ya'll can read them too)

 

Wow, that seems quick. When did they start construction?

 

Hopefully someone on campus can post pics!

[UAalum72]

Hopefully someone on campus can post pics!

Took one from the outside today. Not as big as I thought it would be. No columns or arches, but it sort of goes with podium architecture

[B9j2j6s]

The east side was the smaller of the two additions. The west is massive two level gym, and large auditorium.

[Clickclack]

The east side was the smaller of the two additions. The west is massive two level gym, and large auditorium.

 

Correct, this looks like a lot of seating didn't look deeper into the building. The other side is significantly larger, the beam structure is going up now.