[Asualumni] Angelo State Realignment under the Texas Tech University System

[RnBKirk at aol.com]

Dear Vice President Norris:
 
I read with interest the materials provided in your message about the  
proposed realignment and, because I am an out of state alumnus, I very much  
appreciate being included on the Alumni Association's mailing list.   However, I must 
say that I don't fully understand the reasoning behind the TTU  realignment 
proposal.  Moreover, I'm not convinced that the advantages that  are described 
on the Coalition's web page wouldn't also accrue under  the Texas State 
University System or other university system in Texas.  
 
Having been a strong supporter for retention of the ASU name during the  most 
recent attempt to change it, it seems to me the Coalition's most appealing  
argument is that ASU would be able to retain its name.  However,  because ASU 
already has "State" as part of its name, a de facto  identity with a "state" 
university as opposed to a "tech" university  already exists.  So, protecting 
the current name may be neither  reasonable nor logical if ASU becomes part of 
the Texas Tech University  system.  Wouldn't the expectation be that any 
university in the TTU  system would somehow have Tech in its name?
 
As for almost all the supporting arguments which are offered on the  site, 
including those that are repeated in the Commissioners Court resolution,  none 
of them stand out as only being possible under the TTU system.  That  is, 
whether true or not, virtually all of the possible  benefits as currently described 
strike me as being  equally possible under any of the university systems in 
Texas.
 
Although one wouldn't necessarily expect to see opposing arguments on a  
"supporting" web site, what is missing for me is a comprehensive view of  the 
alternatives, including the pros and cons for each.  If a move  under the TTU 
system would be the best for ASU, the arguments in support  ought to stand out as 
unique to TTU and clearly advantageous to ASU.  I have no doubt the motives 
behind the supporting position are pure  but offering only one side of the story 
ultimately seems to weaken  it.  Incidentally, I may have missed an earlier 
message or  two from the Association about this proposed change but I'm  
wondering if input from the Association was solicited before the Board  took its 
vote?  
 
My first reaction is to ask, if a realignment is necessary, what  makes 
moving under TTU the best choice?  
 
Very Respectfully,
 
Bill Kirk (MPA, 1980)
Acting Chief
Research and Evaluation Bureau
California Department of Social  Services       

<BR><BR><BR>**************************************<BR> AOL now offers free 
email to everyone.  Find out more about what's free from AOL at 
http://www.aol.com.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://raiden.angelo.edu/pipermail/asualumni/attachments/20070310/f5dc5cfc/attachment-0001.htm