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Engstrom stepping down
- Thread starter chris
- Start date
Interesting comments about new programs at UM, a medical school would be great but it is terribly expensive to start and then to run and I doubt if the state coffers are that loaded with extra $'s plus i believe MSU already said NO and Bozeman would not be a good location anyhow--they need a more complex healthcare/hospital operation to make it work. Missoula does have the healthcare operations but money is the issue I think. Ancillary programs to complement PT and Pharmacy would be great--OT, Optometry for example. Recruiting is also a big issue and it sounds to me like UM has fallen way behind in that respect. I am also thrilled that Engstrom has been shown the door--it is obvious that he was not willing or able to do what needed to be done and most of what needed to be done should have been done 3-4 years ago.
UM needs to build out a huge cannabis research program. Perfect place for it. I'm not even kidding. With all the states legalizing for medical and recreational use, soon the government will reclassify it as a non dangerous substance and the flood gates will open. They are just now starting to find huge medical benefits with all different strains of cannabis and how they interact with the endocannabinoid system, receptors in the human body - and they are only scratching the surface. It's a very complex plant and it's going to change everything within the medical world within a couple decades I predict.
Blgs Griz Fan
Well-known member
Griz66 said:
I doubt the State of Montana could afford a Medical School and if one was to be developed the most logical location would be in Billings. MSUB s just up the hill from both hospitals and the service offered are the most extensive in the state. Billings Clinic is now affiliated with the Mayo Clinic and is in the second year of their residency program.
It has been mention that Rocky is looking into a med school but I suspect it is too small and under funded to do so. However Rocky seems to be the favorite among the social elite in Billings so who knows.
I do think there are opportunities for new medical programs at the U. I think my pick would be Optometry since I know a lot of local practitioners in this area have attended Pacific University in Oregon and they are not shy on tuition.
grizcountry420
Well-known member
poorgriz said:
and i can be the director of that program..
grizcountry420
Well-known member
mtgriz said:zgrizcountry420 said:poorgriz said:
and i can be the director of that program..
...or on the research subject staff!
I know the ends and outs of it all..
UMGriz75
Well-known member
Yes. A thirty day termination is unusual. Typically, a University President gets something more face-saving than this, especially one who just received "Montana College Administrator of the Year" award, and ongoing congratulations from the BOR about the fine job he's been doing.wbtfg said:
But a "thirty day notice?" College students get this kind of notice from their landlord after they just trashed the house, or a coach gets this kind of notice after a humiliating loss to the in-state rival.
It's been awfully quiet on campus about the November "final" Fall Semester enrollment numbers, which should have been released two weeks ago. I suspect they are, as usual, worse than "expected" and the ongoing charade by the BOR finally was too much, even for them.
Blgs Griz Fan said:
I have seen two posters now state definitively that Billings is the place for a med school and state that Billings has better medical services than every other town in the state. I am not arguing, because I don't have any metric on which to do so, but I am curious as to why people are so certain Billings is so much better than Missoula in the medical field? are there metrics anywhere that judge this, or is it opinions that would likely be clouded by those who have only experienced one or the other?
I think it's critical to stop the drain of Liberal Arts and Business School students to Bozeman. 75 produced an interesting analysis that showed most of the decline in Liberal Arts and Business students was very nearly perfectly offset by gains in enrollment in these areas in Bozeman.
New programs are important, but I think the quicker fix is to restore what is at UM already.
New programs are important, but I think the quicker fix is to restore what is at UM already.
grzz said:
Here's the blurb from the COC in Billings:
http://www.billingschamber.com/relocate/billings/healthcare/
It's been more than thirty years since I lived there but it was the largest complex of medical practices and facilities between Calgary and Denver @ that point. MSUB is directly north of St. Vincents and within walking distance of the Clinic. As Kem pointed out, would be a perfect spot given the proximity of this stuff. But building up the med specialities like PT/OT/Speech, Med Tech, and so forth would be a worthwhile endeavor for the U. The woman to whom I'm related to by marriage is the director of a program locally and most OT's today, @ least here in the midwest, are expected to go to grad school to get their DR. degrees. OT's in our area are hauling down $90K yearly.
Got to think bigger, better and perhaps a bit differently if anyone hopes to pull this place out of the spiral they're in now.
UMGriz75
Well-known member
The other unit in the U system in big enrollment trouble is Montana State University Billings. On a 2006-2016 timeline, it has suffered greater percentage losses than UM. It may be moving to intercept programs that UM might otherwise get, but has moved too slowly to obtain.
IdaGriz01
Well-known member
Random thoughts:
Some years back (I could nail that, but it doesn't really matter) Idaho State was somehow designated the lead school for medical research in the state. They already had a well-known and respected pharmacy program, so that helped a lot. As a result, they have developed some outstanding programs in the health-related fields. (Someone from ISU would know better, but my impression is that the "rural health" emphasis is a big plus and gets some good financial support.) My point: That apparent success has not helped overall enrollment, which peaked around 2010 and has been declining steadily since.
That triggered a thought and ... based on limited research ... it seems to be a fact that one super-good department/program at a school generally does little to lift other departments. In other words, students with that particular interest flock to the place, but the rest don't give a damn.
I believe -- again, based on limited research, but the ideas make sense -- the success of a school comes from having a broad base of strong programs and an attractive campus experience. Many young people I have talked to (another small data set) give lip service to this or that strong program at a school, but are surprisingly (to me) ambiguous about their commitment to it as a career. Another block of students are not sure what major they will pursue ... they "know" they need a college degree, but have little or no idea beyond that. Thus, for many, choice of a school comes down to the expected campus experience ... and what their friends are doing. (For all the "do your own thing" rhetoric, teenagers are incredibly conformist within their cliques -- that has not changed in a half century, and probably forever.)
UM has good programs and what should be a fine campus experience, so it should be doing better. But that's the rub: You have to sell your great stuff (and it can be a hard sell). We've heard far too many stories on here, over the years, from parents whose sons or daughters are about to graduate ... but have heard ZERO from UM, while getting brochures, standard mailings, etc. from other schools. That is truly an area where "you have to spend money to make money" -- the final "money" being a fee-paying, enrolled student. Yet, from all indications, UM is doing an abysmal (piss poor :evil: ) job in that area.
:twocents:
Some years back (I could nail that, but it doesn't really matter) Idaho State was somehow designated the lead school for medical research in the state. They already had a well-known and respected pharmacy program, so that helped a lot. As a result, they have developed some outstanding programs in the health-related fields. (Someone from ISU would know better, but my impression is that the "rural health" emphasis is a big plus and gets some good financial support.) My point: That apparent success has not helped overall enrollment, which peaked around 2010 and has been declining steadily since.
That triggered a thought and ... based on limited research ... it seems to be a fact that one super-good department/program at a school generally does little to lift other departments. In other words, students with that particular interest flock to the place, but the rest don't give a damn.
I believe -- again, based on limited research, but the ideas make sense -- the success of a school comes from having a broad base of strong programs and an attractive campus experience. Many young people I have talked to (another small data set) give lip service to this or that strong program at a school, but are surprisingly (to me) ambiguous about their commitment to it as a career. Another block of students are not sure what major they will pursue ... they "know" they need a college degree, but have little or no idea beyond that. Thus, for many, choice of a school comes down to the expected campus experience ... and what their friends are doing. (For all the "do your own thing" rhetoric, teenagers are incredibly conformist within their cliques -- that has not changed in a half century, and probably forever.)
UM has good programs and what should be a fine campus experience, so it should be doing better. But that's the rub: You have to sell your great stuff (and it can be a hard sell). We've heard far too many stories on here, over the years, from parents whose sons or daughters are about to graduate ... but have heard ZERO from UM, while getting brochures, standard mailings, etc. from other schools. That is truly an area where "you have to spend money to make money" -- the final "money" being a fee-paying, enrolled student. Yet, from all indications, UM is doing an abysmal (piss poor :evil: ) job in that area.
:twocents:
