Eric Sexton is a legend.

[Rlh04d]

Kung Wu, IMO President Bardo's long range plan for WSU is to elevate the academic standing of our university to such a level that the Kansas Board of Regents endorses a name change to Kansas Institute of Technology with five separate colleges:

1. Arts (Fine Arts and Music)

2. Engineering

3. Management (Business and Entrepreneurship)

4. Humanities (Liberal Arts and Social Sciences)

5. Sciences (Hard sciences to include Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, etc)

Given Bardo's age (66) I am not confident he can accomplish this goal prior to the Kansas Board of Regents forcing his mandatory retirement.

Something similar to this is what I'm really impressed with.

Personally, I'm not an alumni, so I only care about Marshall being retained. However, I think in 20 years Wichita State could be the model "smaller" universities use for how athletics can help transform a university from top to bottom. What President Bardo's doing is far beyond just athletics, and those of you who are alumni should be incredibly proud of that.

[Shocker1976]

Something similar to this is what I'm really impressed with.

Personally, I'm not an alumni, so I only care about Marshall being retained. However, I think in 20 years Wichita State could be the model "smaller" universities use for how athletics can help transform a university from top to bottom. What President Bardo's doing is far beyond just athletics, and those of you who are alumni should be incredibly proud of that.

Rih04d, IMO Marshall's continued presence at WSU is critical to Bardo's plan for Wichita State - all that free exposure to potential students saves Bardo a ton of money that can be spent on his "vision" rather than on marketing WSU. Plus the "shakers and movers" in Wichita's business community have bought in fully to Bardo's vision and thus assisted him in providing Marshall a financial package that precludes him from being recruited away by other schools.

If Bardo can prevent the Beakers (Kansas University) from sabotaging his plan, within ten years WSU could/should morph into Kansas Institute of Technology comprised of 12,000 students (6,000 undergraduates and 6,000 graduate students).

[Shock Top]

Kung Wu, IMO President Bardo's long range plan for WSU is to elevate the academic standing of our university to such a level that the Kansas Board of Regents endorses a name change to Kansas Institute of Technology with five separate colleges:

1. Arts (Fine Arts and Music)

2. Engineering

3. Management (Business and Entrepreneurship)

4. Humanities (Liberal Arts and Social Sciences)

5. Sciences (Hard sciences to include Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, etc)

Given Bardo's age (66) I am not confident he can accomplish this goal prior to the Kansas Board of Regents forcing his mandatory retirement.

I proposed the KIT name in the WSU Growth thread.

If the name change does happen, I expect to be recognized ;)

[FlyingWheat]

I proposed the KIT name in the WSU Growth thread.

If the name change does happen, I expect to be recognized ;)

I like KAN Tech. As in "what KAN Tech do for you?"

[Shock Top]

I like KAN Tech. As in "what KAN Tech do for you?"

Damn. That's good too.

What about: "The KIT to success"?

Kansas Tech, Kan Tech, KT, KIT, Kansas Institue of Technology. All could be interchangeable :)

[The Mad Hatter]

If Bardo can prevent the Beakers (Kansas University) from sabotaging his plan, within ten years WSU could/should morph into Kansas Institute of Technology comprised of 12,000 students (6,000 undergraduates and 6,000 graduate students).

Why do you think that the plan is/should be to cut the number of undergrads in half?

[Rlh04d]

Rih04d, IMO Marshall's continued presence at WSU is critical to Bardo's plan for Wichita State - all that free exposure to potential students saves Bardo a ton of money that can be spent on his "vision" rather than on marketing WSU. Plus the "shakers and movers" in Wichita's business community have bought in fully to Bardo's vision and thus assisted him in providing Marshall a financial package that precludes him from being recruited away by other schools.

If Bardo can prevent the Beakers (Kansas University) from sabotaging his plan, within ten years WSU could/should morph into Kansas Institute of Technology comprised of 12,000 students (6,000 undergraduates and 6,000 graduate students).

Absolutely. I made that same point in length on MVCFans a few days ago.

Marshall is the public face of WSU's growth -- it's not possible without the attention he's bringing to the university. But what WSU seems to be capable of doing in the near future is flat out impossible without Bardo as well. I've seen numerous universities achieve major success in athletics without that academic success translating to the university as a whole. I think President Bardo can realistically transform Wichita State, top to bottom, in a way I'm not sure has ever been done before.

The obvious analog is the Flutie Effect at Boston College, but the actual effect at BC has been challenged repeatedly and isn't necessarily fact. Wichita State could actually create the true Flutie Effect -- the Marshall Effect. Tremendous athletic success over a period of years matched with an aggressive, visionary President capitalizing on the increased visibility and goodwill towards university donations.

I'm not sure a smaller study body is the answer, but I'm ignorant on the majority of specifics there.

[1972Shocker]

I'm not sure a smaller study body is the answer, but I'm ignorant on the majority of specifics there.

Not sure where that came from. I don't recall that being part of Dr. Bardo's vision. In fact, I think his goal was to grow the enrollment to 20,000+ and I would be quite surprised to see a name change from Wichita State University.

[ripemupshocks]

We need to rename it. "I graduated from Midwest Institute of Technology with a Master of Science in Astrochemlectrical Engineering with an Emphasis in Basketbology."

Kung Wu, IMO President Bardo's long range plan for WSU is to elevate the academic standing of our university to such a level that the Kansas Board of Regents endorses a name change to Kansas Institute of Technology with five separate colleges:

1. Arts (Fine Arts and Music)

2. Engineering

3. Management (Business and Entrepreneurship)

4. Humanities (Liberal Arts and Social Sciences)

5. Sciences (Hard sciences to include Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, etc)

Given Bardo's age (66) I am not confident he can accomplish this goal prior to the Kansas Board of Regents forcing his mandatory retirement.

Please No! The Massachusetts Institute of Technology plays sports at the Division III level. Every other name sounds like ITT Tech, which is short for "Institute of Technological Technology Technical Institute". That's sort of like the ADAA, the "American Dodgeball Association of America". Then next thing you know, all of our games will be relegated to the Ocho.

[Dave Stalwart]

6. Basketbology.

BASKETBOLOGY!!!

HAHAHAHAHA

[Shocker1976]

Why do you think that the plan is/should be to cut the number of undergrads in half?

Just arbitrary numbers, I have heard Dr Bardo comment that his goal is to increase student enrollment to 20,000 students. I chose 12,000 simply to balance undergraduate to the potential graduate students I think WSU could capture. Clearly undergraduate enrollment could remain 14,000 with 6 thousand graduate students Dr Bardo achieves his 20,000 student goal.

[Shocker1976]

Please No! The Massachusetts Institute of Technology plays sports at the Division III level. Every other name sounds like ITT Tech, which is short for "Institute of Technological Technology Technical Institute". That's sort of like the ADAA, the "American Dodgeball Association of America". Then next thing you know, all of our games will be relegated to the Ocho.

Ripemupshocks, think Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Georgia Institute of Technology with 23,000 students) not MIT.

[Ta town]

Ripemupshocks, think Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Georgia Institute of Technology with 23,000 students) not MIT.

K-Tech?

I don't care to read thru this.
Is this a real goal or just some posters dream?

[Aargh]

Marshall came here with the crazy idea he could compete for a national championship. Bardo came here with the crazy idea he could turn WSU into a nationally recognized university for combining technology with business management and leadership. Bardo may be achieving (at an institutional level) at about the same level that Marshall is achieving.

Bardo has an Asian aerospace manufacturer and an Airbus engineering group relocating to WSU's campus! WSU is unlikely to reach CalTech and MIT levels of technology education, but those places don't have international businesses who consume that technology on their campuses.

WSU has a three-pronged approach that is mutually beneficial to all parties. Marshall's success with basketball makes potential students aware of (and often interested in) WSU. That's critical to Bardo's plan. Charles Koch gets positive reinforcement for his name every time Charles Koch Arena is mentioned in national broadcasts. Marshall keeps WSU in the national spotlight and Charles Koch gets excellent PR for the $$ he contributes to what WSU is doing.

Koch is not going all T. Boone Pickens or anything, but he is investing in areas that benefit WSU basketball, WSU academics, Koch Industries, and getting his name in national media in a positive manner.

If the Bardo plan comes to fruition, Engineering, Technology, and Business are all going to be Shockers - just like the basketball team.

[Shocker1976]

Marshall came here with the crazy idea he could compete for a national championship. Bardo came here with the crazy idea he could turn WSU into a nationally recognized university for combining technology with business management and leadership. Bardo may be achieving (at an institutional level) at about the same level that Marshall is achieving.

Bardo has an Asian aerospace manufacturer and an Airbus engineering group relocating to WSU's campus! WSU is unlikely to reach CalTech and MIT levels of technology education, but those places don't have international businesses who consume that technology on their campuses.

WSU has a three-pronged approach that is mutually beneficial to all parties. Marshall's success with basketball makes potential students aware of (and often interested in) WSU. That's critical to Bardo's plan. Charles Koch gets positive reinforcement for his name every time Charles Koch Arena is mentioned in national broadcasts. Marshall keeps WSU in the national spotlight and Charles Koch gets excellent PR for the $$ he contributes to what WSU is doing.

Koch is not going all T. Boone Pickens or anything, but he is investing in areas that benefit WSU basketball, WSU academics, Koch Industries, and getting his name in national media in a positive manner.

If the Bardo plan comes to fruition, Engineering, Technology, and Business are all going to be Shockers - just like the basketball team.

Well said Aargh, importantly President Bardo is not trying to reinvent the wheel. History informs MIT admitted its first students in 1865 "...to establish an independent educational institution to address an industrializing America" and Georgia Tech, then known as the Georgia School of Technology "...opened its doors in October 1888 to 84 students." GT's creation was important to transforming an agrarian South into an industrial economy. In 1948, to reflect a growing focus on advanced technological and scientific research, the name was changed to the Georgia Institute of Technology.

President Bardo has envisioned a watershed event opportunity in education; hopefully he can bring his vision to reality despite the envy, jealousy, arrogance and machinations of the Beakers in Lawrence, Kansas.