OT - Mason Joins R1 Club as Dartmouth is Pushed Out

Pikapppatri8

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Mason hit an academic milestone be categorized as an R1 University.

Link==> https://www.washingtonpost.com/news.../?postshare=2181454596773471&tid=ss_tw-bottom

"
So what is R1 and why does it matter? This label — denoting schools with “highest research activity” — is part of a crucial sorting exercise that occurs once every five years, called the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

To many insiders, R1 is considered “sort of the pinnacle of higher education — a shorthand for institutions to identify themselves,” said Kevin Kinser, an associate professor of educational administration and policy studies at the State University of New York at Albany. He is on the advisory board of the Carnegie initiative. (Albany, by the way, is an R1.)"



In a highly competitive market, universities seize on anything to stand out. An R1 label can help burnish a school’s reputation. “Does it attract as many people as a good football team? I hope so.” Gee said. “We want to have both. We want to succeed on and off the field.”

The others moving up from R2 to R1 were:

  • Boston College
  • Clemson (S.C.)
  • Florida International
  • George Mason (Va.)
  • Kansas State
  • Syracuse (N.Y.)
  • Temple (Penn.)
  • Texas Tech
  • University of Texas at Arlington
  • University of Texas at Dallas
  • University of Mississippi
  • University of North Texas
  • University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
 

Walter

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I am shocked that some of those schools (Clemson, Syracuse, K state) weren't already R1.
 

psyclone

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Email from President Cabrera to Mason faculty and staff:

Dear Patriot,

I am delighted to inform you that, for the first time in our history, we have been chosen as one of the top research universities in the nation by the influential Carnegie Classification.

Earlier this week, the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education released its newest listings, with George Mason University elevated to the “Highest Research Activity” tier. Only 115 universities are included in this group, with another 107 being considered as having “Higher Research Activity.” Until now, we had been included in that second tier.

To be recognized by Carnegie as a major research university nationally and internationally is a tremendous milestone for our university, for our state and for our region. Every Mason faculty and staff member and student should take tremendous pride in this accomplishment. We earned this because of your years of hard work and dedication.

This change in classification, the realization of a goal set forth in our 10-year strategic plan, reflects our overall growth in research activity and doctoral graduates in the past five years. We know these rankings can sometimes be fickle and subject to change over time. Yet, earning a position in the top tier for the first time represents a major milestone in our journey.

In addition to our traditional strengths in economics and the social sciences—where we have received numerous recognitions, including the Nobel Prize on two occasions—in recent years we have made significant progress in biomedical research, neuroscience, cybersecurity, information technology and other scientific and technological domains.

We have built state-of-the-art laboratories for biomedical and infectious disease research, and we have expanded our research infrastructure on our various campuses. We have recruited world-class scientists who have already attracted millions of dollars in research grants and have helped spin off several startups. It is rewarding to see that our work is delivering results and being recognized at the highest level in our profession.

However, this encouraging recognition is not the endgame. Instead, we should treat it as a signal to the scientific community, funding organizations and industry partners that we have the capacity and commitment to play a leading role in tackling some of the most pressing challenges of our time; that we are the innovation engine that our state and regional economy needs to stay competitive.

We have much work ahead of us and are looking forward to working with the administration, the legislature, our private partners and the other research universities in Virginia to continue to strengthen our research capabilities.

People outside of the Mason community who read about our new classification will associate the news with the university itself. I associate it with you. Our people are our greatest resource. The work you do every day is what earned us this distinction, and I cannot thank you enough for all that you do every day to support the mission of our university.

Sincerely,

Ángel Cabrera
 
He's very long-winded. "Eat shit, Dartmouth," would have been the press release from President Jollay's office.

This is way overdue. Literally I have never met somebody from Dartmouth I wasn't way smarter than.

We are the Big Green, now.

President Jollay. I like the sound of that.
 

MasonFanatic

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vcu fans can continue to mock us for not capitalizing on the Final 4, but they're wrong / blind if they think we're still a glorified community college. Can't wait for some of them to have kids who apply to Mason, think it's a safety school, and don't get accepted.
 

mkaufman1

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vcu fans can continue to mock us for not capitalizing on the Final 4, but they're wrong / blind if they think we're still a glorified community college. Can't wait for some of them to have kids who apply to Mason, think it's a safety school, and don't get accepted.

But why wouldn't those kids want to stay in paradise aka Richmond? I mean Shaka loved Richmond and was never going to leave! :D
 

Walter

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JMU's president just released a similar letter:

Dear Purple and Gold Friends and Family,

With Liberty U moving up to the National University classification, your James Madison University is now the only university in the state of Virginia that anyone has ever heard of that is still classified as a "regional university." Rest assured, Dukes, we will once again be back at the top of US News Southern Regional Universities rankings as soon as those six, small private colleges above us move up to a more competitive classification. It will be just like when all the good teams left the CAA and we finally made it back to the NCAA tourney.

And I just got some good news, no coaches have resigned this week to take jobs at Sun Belt universities. You may have never heard of the Sun Belt conference, but we are way too good to join it, even if they wanted us, which apparently they do not.

As they say around here, we may not be able to compete with the big boys, but our co-eds are easier than most big school co-eds.

Go Dukes,
JR Alger
President of JMU
 
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GMU92

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vcu fans can continue to mock us for not capitalizing on the Final 4, but they're wrong / blind if they think we're still a glorified community college. Can't wait for some of them to have kids who apply to Mason, think it's a safety school, and don't get accepted.

Have already heard stories like this. People have seriously outdated notions of Mason. My neighbor's son took 2 NOVA classes last semester, flunked one (not sure what he was doing, he has no job), and talked to the counselor about plans to transfer to Mason...she placed him on academic probation and basically said "get f*cking real".
 
OP
Pikapppatri8

Pikapppatri8

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vcu fans can continue to mock us for not capitalizing on the Final 4, but they're wrong / blind if they think we're still a glorified community college. Can't wait for some of them to have kids who apply to Mason, think it's a safety school, and don't get accepted.

700 acre campus with 7000 plus on campus beds, large research budget , two satellite campii and not located in an urban war zone yet they look down at us???

Cute.


Broads, Buicks, and Buckley
 

GMUgemini

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700 acre campus with 7000 plus on campus beds, large research budget , two satellite campii and not located in an urban war zone yet they look down at us???

Cute.


Broads, Buicks, and Buckley

But, you know, they've got the basketball, and the highly ranked graphic design department and stuff.
 

GMU92

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700 acre campus with 7000 plus on campus beds, large research budget , two satellite campii and not located in an urban war zone yet they look down at us???

Cute.

Broads, Buicks, and Buckley

2005 Richmond was rated #9 most dangerous city in the United States.
Still ranked top 5 most dangerous city/region in Virginia.
Stuff the snoots in the capital don't like to talk about.
 

Patriotsince81

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But, you know, they've got the basketball, and the highly ranked graphic design department and stuff.
The vcu graphic design department looks for prospective students by seeing if they can color inside the lines.
 
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Pikapppatri8

Pikapppatri8

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Another sign on how far things have come - My son has a Mason student buddy already assigned to him and has been sharing what life is like on campus and he is scheduled for a weekend overnighter in a couple of weeks. He has a personalized webpage for all of his application and housing documentation. Students from his program have also sent texts and emails about the activities and clubs on campus.

He has been overwhelmed by the administrative and student support. Never got that when I was a freshmen.
 

GMU92

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Another sign on how far things have come - My son has a Mason student buddy already assigned to him and has been sharing what life is like on campus and he is scheduled for a weekend overnighter in a couple of weeks. He has a personalized webpage for all of his application and housing documentation. Students from his program have also sent texts and emails about the activities and clubs on campus.

He has been overwhelmed by the administrative and student support. Never got that when I was a freshmen.

Wow, so different from when I started in 1988. Orientation basically involved sitting through a few lame team building/self awareness/whatever exercises in SUB II, sorting through a ditto copy of "The Down and Dirty", and catching a fleeting glimpse of a person named President George Johnson.
 
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