Campus Expansion

[Jay Bee]

Thanks for adding to this and JayBee's comments.  However, this is the only publicly available data that is consistent over the years...as to why, it is in the footnotes:

Which single donor?  Why the change in conditions to a pledge versus receivable? They weren't the only ones...interesting to see big donations came in to Fr. Wild in January for $10 million and Lovell all summer. The 1% at MU is a very small sample.

lol. No, you just aren't familiar with basic financial accounting and reporting.

[Dr. Blackheart]

On the cost of tuition debate, I have said this before...minorities today, will be the majority in 2050.  Many of these will be first generation college students, unlike today, where Millenials wer expected by their more affluent Boomer parents to go to college.  The Millenials will be the most educated generation in history.

But, with 18 year old+ Hispanics, who are very Catholic, growing annually at twice the general population, the definitionsof educational value will be very different in terms of a traditiona college degree. JUCO will be more prevalent for economic reasons, with a transfer to a name school to finish.  Two year and three year degrees will be more valued than 4 or 6 year degrees (with an advanced degree) in terms of ROI.  

For example, with summer school, why not finish in three years versus the five at Wisconsin or state schools? Why not partner with JUCO's for a 2-4 year combo degree?  More so, expanding the student base to a world of consumers by creating an international school on campus as the local population outside of the West is younger (like Asia, Africa). Virtual education? Stanford is on it already.

Some will cringe at this as it may be seen as moving away from a traditional Jesuit education...but the demographics and economics will dictate it.

[Dr. Blackheart]

lol. No, you just aren't familiar with basic financial accounting and reporting.

You are gem. Add content not bluster.

[forgetful]

On the cost of tuition debate, I have said this before...minorities today, will be the majority in 2050.  Many of these will be first generation college students, unlike today, where Millenials wer expected by their more affluent Boomer parents to go to college.  The Millenials will be the most educated generation in history.

But, with 18 year old+ Hispanics, who are very Catholic, growing annually at twice the general population, the definitionsof educational value will be very different in terms of a traditiona college degree. JUCO will be more prevalent for economic reasons, with a transfer to a name school to finish.  Two year and three year degrees will be more valued than 4 or 6 year degrees (with an advanced degree) in terms of ROI.  

For example, with summer school, why not finish in three years versus the five at Wisconsin or state schools? Why not partner with JUCO's for a 2-4 year combo degree?  More so, expanding the student base to a world of consumers by creating an international school on campus as the local population outside of the West is younger (like Asia, Africa). Virtual education? Stanford is on it already.

Some will cringe at this as it may be seen as moving away from a traditional Jesuit education...but the demographics and economics will dictate it.

This would be a bad idea, especially in the sciences/engineering.  The fact of the matter is, the education at JUCO's is not great, especially in the Sciences. 

The faculty there are not quite capable enough to teach many of the classes they are teaching. 

For a liberal arts degree sure.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Speaking as a person who has hired many college grads, having a degree from Poland is going to be a hindrance when it comes to getting a job.  Very few people are going to know whether a degree from any particular university in Poland is worth anything.  Especially with recent grads, I would never hire someone with a degree from a school I had never heard of. 

I have many Polish-born friends (I worked for many years in the janitorial industry), and I don't know a single one who sent or are planning to send their dual-citizen kids back to Poland for university.

Just my two cents.

You have me convinced!  I've maintained that maybe for a graduate degree in international-something.  At least they have the option.

[GGGG]

Which single donor?  Why the change in conditions to a pledge versus receivable? They weren't the only ones...interesting to see big donations came in to Fr. Wild in January for $10 million and Lovell all summer. The 1% at MU is a very small sample.

First of all, this is pretty small so I am surprised they even mentioned it.  Changes in pledges receivable for reasons like this are relatively routine.

And as for the $10M announcements in gift commitments, don't mix up what is reported via financial statements and what is reported via Marquette public relations.  The former must be accounted for when the pledge is made.  The latter can be done strategically at any time for PR reasons.  I am positive that Marquette released those pledges publicly to gain momentum as the new President was taking over.  However those pledges take time to develop and finalize.  I am sure that Pilarz had some type of involvement.  He may have actually secured them under his watch.  OR perhaps the donors didn't like him and wanted to wait until the new guy came on board.  Who knows.

But the point stands is that your initial assessment of using the decrease in net contributions receivable is an inaccurate way to judge fundraising success year over year.

[mu-rara]

This would be a bad idea, especially in the sciences/engineering.  The fact of the matter is, the education at JUCO's is not great, especially in the Sciences. 

The faculty there are not quite capable enough to teach many of the classes they are teaching. 

For a liberal arts degree sure.

Not accurate as a blanket statement.  Some of the folks teaching at UW Extensions have extensive experience in their fields and continue to work in their field.  They choose not to publish or whatever else is expected of faculty at the name brands.  For those families challenged with paying for multiple kids through college it is a great strategy.  2 years at a UW Extension and 2 years at a name brand for your diploma. 

My niece graduated this spring top 2% of her class.  Will attend a 2 year school for the basics and a name brand for her nursing degree.   First 2 years complete for $12K.  A diploma from a name brand.  Golden.

[bork]

I'm hoping it's the lot SE of Straz near Butch's.  Much better land.

Back to the original topic, it was reported today that it includes all the land from 7th to 10th streets, including the UMB Funds building, which was recently vacated.  So they have a building to use right away and probably parking in the short term, until they come up with a long term plan for the property.  They could potentially close off that loop of streets, tear down the buildings and have a huge piece of land to work with.

[Coleman]

Back to the original topic, it was reported today that it includes all the land from 8th to 10th streets, including the UMB Funds building, which was recently vacated.  So they have a building to use right away and probably parking in the short term, until they come up with a long term plan for the property.  They could potentially close off that loop of streets, tear down the buildings and have a huge piece of land to work with.

Its an ugly building, but you're right, they could use it for office space at the very least, or classrooms with some remodeling. Looks like a decent chunk of land. Would be nice green space.

I'm assuming they also get the gravel pit between the UMB building and Marquette Interchange? That's actually a lot of land.

[jficke13]

Back to the original topic, it was reported today that it includes all the land from 8th to 10th streets, including the UMB Funds building, which was recently vacated.  So they have a building to use right away and probably parking in the short term, until they come up with a long term plan for the property.  They could potentially close off that loop of streets, tear down the buildings and have a huge piece of land to work with.

Too bad they didn't get the next block of vacant land to the east as well. I can't remember that ever being anything other than vacant land.

[bork]

Sorry, I mistyped, it includes everything from 7th to 10th St.  Not sure about Butch's.  The rest has been empty since they removed that freeway ramp loop.  $9 million price tag.

Here is the article.
http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/blog/2014/09/marquettes-9m-land-purchase-to-include-former-umb.html

[River rat]

My daughter is in her sophomore year of college.    She decided on her major during high school and we went college shopping based on her intended major.  (Occupational Therapy).    There is one major Midwest Catholic university that offers it.   Xavier.   She applied to and was accepted there.   They immediately offered her $17k off of their $40k tuition/room-board rate.   She opted to go to a directional MAC school that had gave her a $4500 merit based scholarship and nothing else.   My wife and I pledged to continue paying what he had paid per year to put her through Catholic schools.   Because of the state school being less than half of what Xavier cost to begin with, she will need no loans until her 4th year, when she starts working on her masters while simultaneously finishing her bachelors.   She will likely leave college with only a Ford Focus worth of debt, instead of a BMW 3 series worth.   After 12 years of catholic school, she chose the state school based on her own cost-benefit analysis.      A cautionary tale for MU.  

If I had been able to persuade her to change her plans for her major....one of the state schools here will give 4 years of free tuition for a high school GPA higher than 3.9 or an ACT score higher than 29.    She had both. 

My son visited Xavier this summer to possibly play baseball there.  Upon pulling in it seemed like a neat place.  But after being there for a while and seeing the surrounding areas he/we decided the place was an entire dump.  Small enclosed campus like MU's was nice but in the middleof a really crappy neighborhood.  Now MU's is not in the nicest area either but the accessibility to downtown and other thngs is great.  At Xavier you are extremely isolated.  Was very disappointed.  The baseball facility was nice and they have a decent proram, but he was not one bit interested and his parents while initially encouraging the visist were underwhelmed to say the least.

[StillAWarrior]

Sorry, I mistyped, it includes everything from 7th to 10th St.  Not sure about Butch's.  The rest has been empty since they removed that freeway ramp loop.  $9 million price tag.

Here is the article.
http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/blog/2014/09/marquettes-9m-land-purchase-to-include-former-umb.html

South of Michigan, right?  Nothing north of Michigan?

[bork]

South of Michigan, right?  Nothing north of Michigan?

That's my understanding.  North of MI is ATT, some school, a couple churches and an apartment building.  I'm sure MU would be keeping an eye if any of that property becomes available.

[Golden Avalanche]

My son visited Xavier this summer to possibly play baseball there.  Upon pulling in it seemed like a neat place.  But after being there for a while and seeing the surrounding areas he/we decided the place was an entire dump.  Small enclosed campus like MU's was nice but in the middleof a really crappy neighborhood.  Now MU's is not in the nicest area either but the accessibility to downtown and other thngs is great.  At Xavier you are extremely isolated.  Was very disappointed.  The baseball facility was nice and they have a decent proram, but he was not one bit interested and his parents while initially encouraging the visist were underwhelmed to say the least.

Insulting one Jesuit's area while having presumably attended another Jesuit seems a case of a pot and a kettle and the color black.

[Atticus]

Concur.  My 30 year banking career resulted.  I'd only recommend a Top 20 program.  Top 5 is even better.  You and I were both blessed.  And it's pretty freakin' cool when one's mentor is awarded the Nobel for Economics.

Do you really tell young employees not to go back to school to earn an MBA if the program isn't top 5...or top 20? I urge my team members to go back even if it means they go to DePaul or Loyola or UIC. Statistics show that it is better to have an MBA from anywhere...than none at all. And I try to help them as much as possible when it comes to tuition reimbursement. An MU business degree isn't competitive in Chicago. Period. And it's too bad when these kids have huge loans for an undergrad degree. I can only shrug my shoulders and tell them they aren't competitive in a city loaded with UC and NU undergrads.

[Galway Eagle]

Do you really tell young employees not to go back to school to earn an MBA if the program isn't top 5...or top 20? I urge my team members to go back even if it means they go to DePaul or Loyola or UIC. Statistics show that it is better to have an MBA from anywhere...than none at all. And I try to help them as much as possible when it comes to tuition reimbursement. An MU business degree isn't competitive in Chicago. Period. And it's too bad when these kids have huge loans for an undergrad degree. I can only shrug my shoulders and tell them they aren't competitive in a city loaded with UC and NU undergrads.

You know those two schools are bad right? Like we always go on about how Madison isn't that much better than us well kinda the same situation with Depaul and Loyola

[Atticus]

You know those two schools are bad right? Like we always go on about how Madison isn't that much better than us well kinda the same situation with Depaul and Loyola

What??!! I'm talking about employees that want to be competitive in the Chicago job market. An MBA is better than no MBA at all. Ideally, if employees can't get into UC or NU, I tell them to look at schools like USC, Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan, Southern Methodist, Austin, Ucla, etc... There are gains to be made with degrees from those schools!

[Galway Eagle]

What??!! I'm talking about employees that want to be competitive in the Chicago job market. An MBA is better than no MBA at all. Ideally, if employees can't get into UC or NU, I tell them to look at schools like USC, Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan, Southern Methodist, Austin, Ucla, etc... There are gains to be made with degrees from those schools!

Ok I get it. just the way you put it out there reminded me of the way that wisconsin alums talk about MU alums. 

[Atticus]

Ok I get it. just the way you put it out there reminded me of the way that wisconsin alums talk about MU alums. 

I have no idea what you were getting at with your last comment. UW has an incredible undergrad program for securities valuation that MU can't compete with currently. In fact, their program is so highly regarded that it competes with Ross, NYU, and IU. It's good. I'm not from WI so I don't have an inferiority complex. UW alums are very well engrained in the fabric of the financial services industry in Chicago. The fact that we are behind UW in terms of capital markets education is nothing to be ashamed of at the moment. They pour a ton of resources into their valuation program and actually get alums to guest lecture or participate in the advisory of undergrad curriculum. I personally know two people on their advisory board that fly in a helicopter to Madison from Chicago. Silly expenditure, I know...but they believe in the program and that is what matters.

[mu_hilltopper]

Tiny picture here .. the building on the top left is East/YMCA.   Building on the right is the Wells Fargo building with the red top.

[tower912]

Is it big enough for a football field?

[4everwarriors]

That's where the Crean Soccer Complex is goin', hey?

[🏀]

Is it big enough for a football field?

Easily.

[jesmu84]

What??!! I'm talking about employees that want to be competitive in the Chicago job market. An MBA is better than no MBA at all. Ideally, if employees can't get into UC or NU, I tell them to look at schools like USC, Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan, Southern Methodist, Austin, Ucla, etc... There are gains to be made with degrees from those schools!

As a non-business person, can I ask why? Does an MBA demonstrate that people are better at business or finances or anything? Or is it simply the "MBA" on their resume? What does it really tell employers? Is it telling them that someone who got their MBA, but got if from University of Phoenix, would be better at their job than someone with just a bachelors?

Only reason I ask, is because I get annoyed at situations where getting another degree matters purely for the sake of the degree. If it doesn't demonstrate advanced knowledge or qualifications, why should it matter at all?