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New (?) University in Austin

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52-80

52-80 19277

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10 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

I'm actually surprised they are announcing all of this at the stage that they are - they should have had a lot more of this stuff completed well before they made any announcements, like offices, etc. and their social media branding is not so hot - even if they are going legit, eventually those addresses will need to be changed.  And if they are trying to purchase actual land/offices, anybody with property to sell, who links their would-be purchases with them will realize they can ask for more, given the amount of money they are bragging about.

Maybe the response to the announcement is part of the fund raising.  $250MM isn't incredible amount (about 2x endowment of st thomas) that they currently have

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SizzleChest

SizzleChest 8291

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46 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Or circling back to what I said:

If they are in the process of raising hundreds of millions of dollars, I would assume there are some smart people thinking they'll take home a decent chunk of that, and all they have to do is get their name mentioned on a website and give a speech or two.  Ain't none of them relocating to Austin unless they are already here.

It's just Theranos with an online library and a diploma making machine.

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washparkhorn

washparkhorn 9939

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45 minutes ago, Sawbonz said:

Did a quick wiki jump from link to link on these folks and they don’t seem on the whole particularly right wing or grifty 

 Its founding faculty fellows include Peter Boghossian who resigned as an assistant professor at Portland State following a research misconduct investigation after he demonstrated that preposterous leftist ideas can easily be published in low-impact academic journals, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and Kathleen Stock.[3]

Its board of advisers includes Bari Weiss, Joe Lonsdale (co-founder of Palantir Technologies), Larry Summers, David Mametand Niall Ferguson.[2]

keep reading . . .

https://www.chron.com/news/education/article/University-of-Austin-bari-weiss-david-mamet-16602695.php

Spoiler

Brand-new 'University of Austin' launches with controversial board of directors
Photo of Katie Friel
Katie Friel
Nov. 8, 2021
Updated: Nov. 8, 2021 3:30 p.m.

Just a few blocks from the sprawling University of Texas at Austin campus is a new college called appropriately and confusingly the University of Austin. (It's also, as one Twitter user pointed out, the name of the fictional college in the 2000 film Road Trip.)

Announced on November 8 via Bari Weiss' Substack, the university is built for "witches who refuse to burn." According to its website, what makes the University of Austin different is a "commitment to freedom of inquiry," "an innovative curriculum," and "a new financial model" that promises to lower tuition. It's also worth noting that the website URL ends not with an .edu, but rather an .org. and its address on Rio Grande Street puts it in the heart of West Campus, a neighborhood filled with off-campus housing for UT students.


Along with Weiss, the polarizing former New York Times op-ed editor who famously resigned from her post in 2020 after accusing the paper of creating a hostile work environment, the school's board of advisors is a mix of high-brow academics, journalists, controversial thought leaders, and the somewhat puzzling addition of award-winning playwright David Mamet


"We are a dedicated crew that grows by the day," writes Pano Kanelos, former president of St. John's College in Annapolis, in the launch letter. "Our backgrounds and experiences are diverse; our political views differ. What unites us is a common dismay at the state of modern academia and a recognition that we can no longer wait for the cavalry. And so we must be the cavalry."

The calvary also includes Joe Lonsdale, a venture capitalist who moved to Austin last year from California. Lonsdale was banned and then un-banned from Stanford in 2015 after starting a relationship with a female student he was mentoring at the university. In his 12 months as an Austin resident, Lonsdale has reportedly donated tens of thousands to the controversial Save Austin Now PAC, the group instrumental in reinstating the city's homeless ordinance in May. Last week, Lonsdale tweeted that men who took paternity leave were "losers." 


Though the University of Austin has no physical campus yet or academic timeline for degrees (and a request for comment was not immediately fulfilled), the organization did announce its inaugural founding faculty fellows: activist and writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali, philosopher Peter Boghossian, and writer Kathleen Stock, who was fired last month from Sussex University for transphobia, according to the Argus, an East Sussex newspaper.

As with most things Weiss does, Twitter erupted over the news on Monday morning, causing the University of Austin to trend on the social media platform. Some users, including Weiss' former colleague and 1619 Project creator Nicole Hannah Jones, were quick to dismiss the idea as another version of "Trump University," the  "school" launched by the former president, which was later required to pay a $25 million settlement to its former students. That in turn is causing Trump University to trend on Twitter because it's 2021 and we all live a simulation we can't get out of.


No word yet on if the University of Austin will have a football team. But if they're looking a mascot, might we suggest the University of Austin Pronghorns?

 

Edited by washparkhorn
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DanRydell

DanRydell 799

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True.  The marks/names are a combination of descriptive (university) and geographically descriptive (Austin, Texas).  However, by long use, such as by UT Austin, such marks can go from weak to strong.  And I think we can rest assured that UT is considering legal action, because that's the way we roll.
UD was founded in 1956, and UT-D, under that name, in 1969.  That's barely enough time for UD to "work up" a case of a strong trademark.  We have 140 years and an ostensibly very strong brand.  But it's mostly the fact that we're so aggro about it that makes me think this may be an issue.

There’s probably more potential for confusion with Austin College and (Stephen F.) Austin State University than UT-Austin.
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Bookman

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18 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

UT-Dallas and University of Dallas coexist, so barring prior claims to the name/mark, that doesn't seem to be a big issue.

The fact that it appears to be a giant grift does appear to be an issue.

It probably helps that nobody has ever heard of the University of Dallas.

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High Plains Drifter

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On 11/8/2021 at 8:13 AM, burntorangebongos said:

2112 Rio Grande Street, Austin, TX 78705

hmmmm.

 

On 11/8/2021 at 8:23 AM, 52-80 said:

sounds familiar.  is that the home of World Class Holdings?

 

 

I was going to say, I think I lived there for a semester back in the day.

 

 

On 11/8/2021 at 8:35 AM, blacklab said:

Rash Chapman law firm used to be in there. They were a customer of mine years ago when we were doing oil/gas data.

 

Maybe not?

 

 

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'stache

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Isn't half the price of a private college in Texas still significantly more than tuition at public colleges? I think this grift is going to actually work out. They are pretty clear that they aren't awarding degrees and aren't pursuing legitimate accredidation, so it's just an expensive echo chamber for faux intellectuals who hate libruls.

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atomheartbevo

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4 minutes ago, 'stache said:

Isn't half the price of a private college in Texas still significantly more than tuition at public colleges?

A lot (probably most) are much more expensive, and they try to offset it through various aid/grants/scholarships/etc.  I have a friend who teaches at St. Edwards here in Austin, and while he's not even close to being involved in the financials, from conversations he's had with students, he doesn't think many are paying full price (it's a lot more expensive than UT).  A lot of the private schools are relying up on legacy types, parents who want their kids in a certain atmosphere, or kids who had problems getting into other schools.

4 minutes ago, 'stache said:

I think this grift is going to actually work out. They are pretty clear that they aren't awarding degrees and aren't pursuing legitimate accredidation, so it's just an expensive echo chamber

I put it at 50/50.  They claim they want to award degrees and receive accreditation down the road, but that's a helluva lot of hard work.  I do think they have to do this though.

After all, while many parents may agree with their political slant, those same parents are not going to spend a lot of money (or any for that matter) sending their kids off to the equivalent of underwater basket weaving classes, and in then in four years try to figure out how their kids are going to get a job without an actual degree.

I recently went back to take a few college classes and see if my midlife crisis desire of picking up a new degree could pan out, and opted to attend our local community college to get back into the swing of things, and they are aggressive about placing students/graduates into jobs.  Even though I'm not really looking for a new job, every week or two I get notices about job fairs with this or that company that they've partnered with to place students/grads, and they are legit jobs with large companies with decent paychecks (given that it's probably younger 20-somethings with a two-year degree).

And then I try to reconcile that with this University of Austin thing.  How would they be doing job fairs and what companies would they be teaming up with to place graduates?   Fast food chains?

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Blotto

Blotto 23680

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All these founders need to do is publish research about the stupidity of t-sips, give it a couple of years, and then reap their just rewards. A&M paid like $75 million for their shitty law school, no telling what aggy will pony up for a satellite campus to remind little brother about who runs this state.

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atomheartbevo

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4 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

Cost of Attendance at St. Edward's

While incoming freshmen paid $33,500 on average after scholarships and aid last year, the total cost of attendance for the 2021–2022 year before scholarships and aid is $67,544

That's pretty much on par with what my friend mentioned.  That includes housing/food I believe, which is over $10,000.

They started recruiting me through my ACC email, and they had a bunch of offers about aid for older veterans and "older" students (which makes me think ACC sent them a boatload of info on me) and how since I was an older student, not an undergrad, etc. that my costs would be substantially less - I want to say it got down to around the $10,000 - $12,000 or so range, which wasn't that bad, but still more than my costs of going back to UT for another degree.

I was disappointed though - never once did they mention me getting to live in any dorms (probably because I'm married with kids).  I mean, UT's paperwork/etc. didn't for that matter, nor did any of the other many universities that started spamming me.  Actually aggy may have, but I don't remember if it was aggy proper in Collie Station or Central Texas aggy or whatever. And Collie Station aggie made it sound like I could do everything online and not really set foot on campus. 

But damnit, while I maybe a 40-something guy (and therefore a man), I'd like somebody to at least acknowledge that I could still hold my own and should at least be asked if I'd like to do the dorm thing.

And by the way, University of Austin needs to pay a lot more attention to housing/food service - there's a lot of grift to be had there.

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'stache

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21 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

 

After all, while many parents may agree with their political slant, those same parents are not going to spend a lot of money (or any for that matter) sending their kids off to the equivalent of underwater basket weaving classes, and in then in four years try to figure out how their kids are going to get a job without an actual degree.

 

In todays atmosphere, plenty of parents would absolutely do this, then attack anyone who questions the legitimacy of the fake degree, with the support of several senators and congresspeople. I have some very specific thoughts on how it would play out but this isn't in cloak room so I'll just leave it alone. 

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atomheartbevo

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2 minutes ago, Blotto said:

All these founders need to do is publish research about the stupidity of t-sips, give it a couple of years, and then reap their just rewards. A&M paid like $75 million for their shitty law school, no telling what aggy will pony up for a satellite campus to remind little brother about who runs this state.

Didn't they acquire Central Texas aggy from Tarleton or one of the other such colleges around?  And it was a pretty new school (but brilliant putting it near Fort Hood).

But that's an actual college with actual degrees and actual students.

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atomheartbevo

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Just now, 'stache said:

In todays atmosphere, plenty of parents would absolutely do this, then attack anyone who questions the legitimacy of the fake degree, with the support of several senators and congresspeople. I have some very specific thoughts on how it would play out but this isn't in cloak room so I'll just leave it alone. 

Parents who can afford for their kids to then come home and live there while they are in their 20s (And who don't care if their kids move back), sure.

But parents who want their kids out of the house are not going to risk it.  Way too many twenty-something kids have moved back in with their parents as it is.  They'll just send them to Baylor or Tech.

 

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Michael Knight

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The University of Austin announcement comes at the same time that University of Texas at Austin leaders have been working with private donors and Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to launch a new think tank on that school’s campus that would be “dedicated to the study and teaching of individual liberty, limited government, private enterprise and free markets.” Texas legislators already approved an initial $6 million in funding for the Liberty Institute. UT-Austin officials have also committed $6 million.

 

 

Jesus christ

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'stache

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10 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Parents who can afford for their kids to then come home and live there while they are in their 20s (And who don't care if their kids move back), sure.

But parents who want their kids out of the house are not going to risk it.  Way too many twenty-something kids have moved back in with their parents as it is.  They'll just send them to Baylor or Tech.

 

They won't see it as a risk, but as a moral imperative. I'm not saying everyone who likes this idea would do it, but enough for this group to make lots of money, since I don't think they'd need big classes to get rich. 

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Steel Shank

Steel Shank 9439

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1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said:

Where would the University of Surly be located?

It's got to be somewhere with decent scenery and weather.  And a decent body of water nearby for fishing and other recreational activities.

How about at Deep Eddy Cabaret?

Also, I'd like to be Over-Viced Secretary of Student Affairs.

Edited by Steel Shank
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MrBig

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1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said:

Where would the University of Surly be located?

It's got to be somewhere with decent scenery and weather.  And a decent body of water nearby for fishing and other recreational activities.

I like the UniverSurly of Austin better

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wildcat09

wildcat09 29453

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These cowards should hire David Roth to coach their basketball team:

Quote

Anyway that is what the University of Austin is. Now I would like to talk to you about how I plan to build a winning basketball program there.

I want to be clear that this will not be easy. The undergraduate student body will not exist as anything but a concept until fall of 2024, per the school’s stated timeline. The absence of other students, and any kind of universityesque physical presence vis-a-vis buildings and the like, will not help with recruiting. On the other hand, it is hard to see how that student body, if and when it arrives on the campus at such time as that campus exists, will help very much with recruiting, either. It is one thing to say that the school will be “kids who are too doctrinaire to fit in at Notre Dame” or “not up to Stanford’s standards for being normal,” but it is quite another to put together a successful basketball team from that group of people. But I believe it can be done—I believe that the University of Austin Fighting Meritocrats can and will be able to compete with the best and best-resourced programs in Conference USA. (I also think they should play in Conference USA.) I am under no illusions about the difficulties of this task.

So how do we do this? We begin with the simple home truths of winning basketball, albeit from a perspective grounded in a free-market and inquiry-forward approach to the game that rejects the cringing “correctness” that holds back ostensibly enlightened CUSA programs like Rice and Florida Atlantic. My Meritocrats will talk on defense, but not about defense—by engaging opponents on more important questions, we will leverage our program’s discursive advantages. The goal is to be an exhausting and infuriating opponent, and I believe we will achieve this in year one.

More broadly, though, the Meritocrats will win by leaning into the institution’s core values. Where those teams try and fail to implement top-down “team-first” concepts, the Meritocrats will compete, not just with their opponents but with each other. We begin with first principles: Why should a player “pass” to another, if that so-called teammate will simply utilize that opportunity to their own individual advantage? From the crucible of this competition for possession of the basketball, something powerful and true is sure to emerge; that is simply how competition works, and what it does.

This kind of competition will not be for everyone. But at an institution grounded in debate that is relentless and robust, while also civil and respectful, while also open to the possibility that every roundly disproven scientistic 19th-century essentialism is in fact secretly correct, we could not really play any other way. By relentlessly attempting to best each other, these Meritocrats will in turn better themselves and expose their opponents. At the risk of being cocky, it is hard to imagine that UAB or Marshall, held fast as they are by institutional snares and a stifling identity-driven conformity that all involved can barely even see at this point, will have ever encountered anything like it. Also the university’s advisory board has assured me that final scores can be adjusted after the fact without explanation due to a clause in Palantir’s contract with the Central Intelligence Agency.

Of course, a smug and empty argumentativeness haphazardly marshaled in the service of an unjust and untenable status quo can only take a basketball team so far. The Meritocrats will have to be willing to look in places that other teams don’t, or can’t, to find something extra; I’m not sure what this would be yet, but I’m assuming if I say some shit about A.I. and machine learning while kind of implying that I am open to certain basic phrenological concepts it will be enough to get me the job and then I can just figure it out once I’m hired. If they want me to pass up free throws because “eventually you run out of other people’s points” or whatever, I’ll do it. I am not going back to Cal State Northridge.

More than that, and more importantly, I can promise this: My Meritocrats simply will not quit. An exception to that promise, though, would be if like an opportunity to leverage quitting in the service of some sort of broader point arose—say, one about how unfair the institution of college basketball in general and the quisling grandees of Conference USA in particular are to free thinkers, and how afraid they are of Difficult Questions—such that quitting might confer some professional gain. In that case the team will definitely quit, heatedly and publicly, by deploying a strategy that I call The Open Letter. It’s when you write a long open letter about how disappointing, if not surprising, you have found it to be held accountable for the things you think and the way you are by the people you work with, and how you have decided that everyone but you is wrong. This approach is admittedly not pretty to behold, but it wins more often than you’d expect.

Tell me "not up to Stanford's standards for being normal" isn't the perfect description of everyone involved. 

Edited by wildcat09
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