[NU Sports] Expansion, Nebraska, academics

[Tom Maycock]

Article from Omaha World-Herald on the academic side of things. Prominent mention of NU. Er, our NU. 

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100609/NEWS01/706099919#big-ten-scores-off-the-field-too

Concludes with this assessment of PSU's experience:

"Penn State University is proof positive that associating with the Big Ten would most likely enhance any university, professors and administrators there say.In 1990, when Penn State joined the conference, the university's professor salaries were lower than those of their new counterparts. Penn State also brought in fewer top-notch students and fewer federal research dollars than many other Big Ten schools, said Nichols, the former faculty president.
Now the college is virtually indistinguishable from other Big Ten schools. It collected and spent some $400 million in federal research money in 2008 — the 15th highest total in the country — and was rated the 15th best public university in the country last year.
Professor salaries have increased. So has the quality of faculty hires, incoming students and virtually every other measurable characteristic, Nichols said.
“I think at Penn State we said, ‘Well, we're a Big Ten university now. Let's act like one,” he said. “It raised the bar.”"
Tom