[Husker] It is Done

[Mark Landin]

I don't think anyone is trying to say UNL is not a good school. Every
school has strong programs and weak programs. Being in the big 10
appears to give UNL the chance to capitalize on its traditional
strengths (and they clearly  have some or the B 10 woudln't have even
entertained our application), while opening opprtunities to develop
additional areas of excellence that may not have been present in the
B12, while collaborating with some of the finest research partners
outside of MIT and Stanford. Hopefully everyone sees this opportunity
and a compliment to UNL, not an indictment.

On 6/12/10, Kathy Jackson <kj60028 at windstream.net> wrote:
> Maybe I just want to make sure I am not still and idiot after getting
> two degrees from UNL but I would have to say that depending on what
> department you are in you will be working with some of the leading
> researchers in their fields.  I know that in the late 90's when I was
> getting a masters degree from the school of biological science they
> were also interviewing for some faculty positions.  One of the things
> the candidates did was have lunch with the graduate students where we
> got to ask anything we wanted.  We then were able to express our
> opinion to the committee - one factor among many but hey at least they
> asked.  Anyway one of the questions we would always ask was how was
> UNL's biology department viewed out in the big world.  The general
> answer was that lots of universities had one "big gun" who was very
> good and very famous.  UNL had quality across the department with
> researchers who were known and respected in their field across the
> country.   I know when I got my BS the animal science department was
> top notch and the food science department is one of the top 3 in the
> nation.  I am sure there are other departments that are equally
> respected, so it sounds like we won't have to be the poor relation
> joining the big 10.
>
> Student attitude has lots to do with their success and overall
> experience in any University.  I am sure plenty of kids party/drink
> their way out of big 10 schools just as they do at UNL.
>
> Kathy Jackson
> On Jun 11, 2010, at 7:51 PM, Steve Reichenbach wrote:
>
>>> Granted it was in the 80s, but i received two degrees from Nebraska
>>> and a Ph.D. from Illinois.  It was night and day; academically the
>>> Big
>>> 10 fully deserves its reputation.  From that standpoint alone, i am
>>> ecstatic about NU joining the Big 10.
>>
>> I think that the differences between national PhD-granting research
>> universities is greatly exaggerated.  I earned a BA from Nebraska in
>> the 1970s, earned an MS from Washington University (St. Louis) and a
>> PhD from William and Mary in the 1980s, and currently am on the
>> faculty
>> at UNL.  Washington University is a "top" research university and
>> William and Mary is a "top" national university.
>>
>> In my experience and opinion, there is more variation within a
>> department
>> of a university than there is between departments of different
>> universities.  Many of UNL's faculty are better than most faculty at
>> the "top" research universities.  For example, see this link ranking
>> UNL faculty members among the world's top 50 software engineering
>> scholars (G. Rothermel #2, M. Dwyer #29, S. Elbaum #50):
>> http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=1247001.1247010
>>
>> So, I believe that "night and day" is an inaccurate characterization
>> of the academics at UNL versus the Big 10 schools.  A student's
>> experience has far more to do with who they work with and what they
>> do than in which university they are enrolled.
>>
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