Not cool enough.
April 22, 2012 6:22 PM Subscribe
University of Florida eliminates Computer Science department saving $1.7 mln; increases athletic budget by $2 mln, to $99 mln total.
This post was deleted for the following reason: This is a single link "bad thing that happened someplace" post. maybe if it's a big deal put together a longer post about it, but this isn't really conducive to decent discussion. -- jessamyn
You go with your strengths. Anything involving science or logic just ain't gonna make it in Florida.
posted by oneswellfoop at 6:27 PM on April 22, 2012 [11 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 6:27 PM on April 22, 2012 [11 favorites]
I'm shocked by this. I always figured the Biology department would've been the first to be eliminated.
posted by Ickster at 6:28 PM on April 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Ickster at 6:28 PM on April 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
How much revenue is the CS department bringing in? Not saying cutting the department makes any sense, but neither does this comparison, seeing as how the athletic program makes over $100m and is likely to donate several million dollars back to the university in revenues.
posted by drpynchon at 6:29 PM on April 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by drpynchon at 6:29 PM on April 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
Florida: #6 out of 50 states in the highest teen pregnancy rates, and where more than 73% of men are clinically obese. I question the sanity of any state that will elect Jeb Bush...
BUT WHO CARES ABOUT EDUCATION, WE HAVE A FOOTBALL TEAM!
looks like we got a reader...
posted by thewalrus at 6:31 PM on April 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
BUT WHO CARES ABOUT EDUCATION, WE HAVE A FOOTBALL TEAM!
looks like we got a reader...
posted by thewalrus at 6:31 PM on April 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
lol
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 6:32 PM on April 22, 2012
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 6:32 PM on April 22, 2012
How much revenue is the CS department bringing in? Not saying cutting the department makes any sense, but neither does this comparison, seeing as how the athletic program makes over $100m and is likely to donate several million dollars back to the university in revenues.
- Academic departments are not businesses.
- Athletics are not academics.
- The athletics program budget is near or over $100 million, thus negating/minimizing what it makes.
- How much money could high-tech businesses bring to the university if there was a reason to?
How can you have a university without a cs department? That's mind boggling to me. You might as well eliminate math or physics.
posted by empath at 6:35 PM on April 22, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by empath at 6:35 PM on April 22, 2012 [3 favorites]
I seem to recall a thread recently where someone said there was no such thing as a war on geeks and us butthurt nerds who have a hate-on for jocks are just misunderstanding everything and really we should just get over it cuz hey we nerds rule the day now, and it's all cool to be geek and shit.
To that I say: Fuck. You.
posted by symbioid at 6:36 PM on April 22, 2012 [3 favorites]
To that I say: Fuck. You.
posted by symbioid at 6:36 PM on April 22, 2012 [3 favorites]
Or hell, if you're bound and determined to have athletics at universities, make the professional leagues pay schools to run what amount to their minor leagues! (At least in the case of the NFL and NBA.) Why should those billionaires get a free pass?
posted by Celsius1414 at 6:36 PM on April 22, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by Celsius1414 at 6:36 PM on April 22, 2012 [3 favorites]
Go Gators!
Was back in Gainesville last month. What really struck me is how many of the old hangouts from my 10 years in town were all gone. Local bagel place? Dunkin' Donuts. Old live music venue? Nothing. Goering's book store? Disappeared. About 8 Starbucks on campus, one in the new library. The immediate area surrounding campus is chock full of new franchises, with the old cafes and restaurants and book stores gone. Luckily downtown is still going strong.
On the bright side, the new student ID card is also automagically an ATM card for Wells Fargo Bank. So you can get your folks to put directly on that.
posted by Telf at 6:39 PM on April 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
Was back in Gainesville last month. What really struck me is how many of the old hangouts from my 10 years in town were all gone. Local bagel place? Dunkin' Donuts. Old live music venue? Nothing. Goering's book store? Disappeared. About 8 Starbucks on campus, one in the new library. The immediate area surrounding campus is chock full of new franchises, with the old cafes and restaurants and book stores gone. Luckily downtown is still going strong.
On the bright side, the new student ID card is also automagically an ATM card for Wells Fargo Bank. So you can get your folks to put directly on that.
posted by Telf at 6:39 PM on April 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
empath: "How can you have a university without a cs department? That's mind boggling to me. You might as well eliminate math or physics."
Mine eliminated language majors. Nobody suggested that the president, who earned 10x what my language professors did, work pro bono for a year.
He wouldn't have starved.
posted by dunkadunc at 6:41 PM on April 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
Mine eliminated language majors. Nobody suggested that the president, who earned 10x what my language professors did, work pro bono for a year.
He wouldn't have starved.
posted by dunkadunc at 6:41 PM on April 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
Just great, Scott.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 6:43 PM on April 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 6:43 PM on April 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
Athletics are not academics.
Exactly right. Hence the poor comparison.
The athletics program budget is near or over $100 million, thus negating/minimizing what it makes.
Sure, but it's still in the black and shifting its profits back to the U. Granted, that's done on the backs of poor young athletes who are making the programs millions, but the comparison is still just plain flame bait. The point is that the athletics program, love it or hate it, is financially self-sustaining. Money is not being somehow shifted from academic programs to support athletics. Quite the opposite. In fact the University is benefiting to the tune of about $6m/yr from the athletics program, which obviously supports some form of non-athletic endeavors.
posted by drpynchon at 6:44 PM on April 22, 2012
Exactly right. Hence the poor comparison.
The athletics program budget is near or over $100 million, thus negating/minimizing what it makes.
Sure, but it's still in the black and shifting its profits back to the U. Granted, that's done on the backs of poor young athletes who are making the programs millions, but the comparison is still just plain flame bait. The point is that the athletics program, love it or hate it, is financially self-sustaining. Money is not being somehow shifted from academic programs to support athletics. Quite the opposite. In fact the University is benefiting to the tune of about $6m/yr from the athletics program, which obviously supports some form of non-athletic endeavors.
posted by drpynchon at 6:44 PM on April 22, 2012
The jocks always win, don't they?
posted by swift at 6:45 PM on April 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by swift at 6:45 PM on April 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
You know that feeling of relief you get when you start reading a disturbing article and then realize it's from the Onion? This is the opposite of that. When I looked up and saw it was for real, my heart dropped.
(UF graduate.)
posted by Telf at 6:45 PM on April 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
(UF graduate.)
posted by Telf at 6:45 PM on April 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
you know how you hear things about a place and you just can't believe it's that bad? with Florida, anything you hear is usually just the tip of the iceberg. it really is hell with beaches.
I was born in this god forsaken place and even went to UF and I'm just counting down to the day I can move away.
posted by photoslob at 6:47 PM on April 22, 2012 [3 favorites]
I was born in this god forsaken place and even went to UF and I'm just counting down to the day I can move away.
posted by photoslob at 6:47 PM on April 22, 2012 [3 favorites]
@Ickster: It really depends on the school. Florida actually has a very good biology department; their entomology (research-wise) is probably better than Yale or Princeton. There isn't a war on blue-skies intellectualism, per se, but a war on things that don't bring in money. At some schools, biology may fail to bring in money, but certainly not at Florida.
posted by Buckt at 6:47 PM on April 22, 2012
posted by Buckt at 6:47 PM on April 22, 2012
Buckt,
That's good point. The university is focusing on what it does well. Maybe specialization of Universities is a good thing? Do what you do best. UF does have fantastic research departments. And football does bring in the money... somewhere.
posted by Telf at 6:51 PM on April 22, 2012
That's good point. The university is focusing on what it does well. Maybe specialization of Universities is a good thing? Do what you do best. UF does have fantastic research departments. And football does bring in the money... somewhere.
posted by Telf at 6:51 PM on April 22, 2012
The point is that the athletics program, love it or hate it, is financially self-sustaining..
Do you have an actual cite (preferably an independent one) for this?
The university by me claims to be one of the only self-sustaining Division I athletic programs in the country
If you investigate the matter, it turns out that you do this by interesting accounting, shifting some of your cost burden to the main university and projecting future revenues so optimistic, they'd make Bernie Madoff blush.
posted by madajb at 6:54 PM on April 22, 2012
Do you have an actual cite (preferably an independent one) for this?
The university by me claims to be one of the only self-sustaining Division I athletic programs in the country
If you investigate the matter, it turns out that you do this by interesting accounting, shifting some of your cost burden to the main university and projecting future revenues so optimistic, they'd make Bernie Madoff blush.
posted by madajb at 6:54 PM on April 22, 2012
Even if the Athletics program isn't self-sustaining, it brings in thousands of meat-headed business majors and future car-salesmen who go there because it's a good party school with a winning team.
posted by empath at 6:56 PM on April 22, 2012
posted by empath at 6:56 PM on April 22, 2012
Dear University of Florida-
"Revenge of the Nerds" is not a manual for college administration.
Love and kisses,
Rakdaddy
posted by RakDaddy at 6:59 PM on April 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
"Revenge of the Nerds" is not a manual for college administration.
Love and kisses,
Rakdaddy
posted by RakDaddy at 6:59 PM on April 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
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posted by mrbill at 6:27 PM on April 22, 2012 [1 favorite]