307-Acres Near NRG Stadium (Formerly UT Research Campus Proposal)

[AREJAY]

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/morning_call/2016/02/uh-turns-down-spot-on-ut-system-task-force-but.html

 

So UH wants a say, but doesn't accept when an offer for a say is extended by UT? 

 

 

The University of Texas System selected the task force to help launch its Houston campus, but one important city institution remains absent from the group.

 

The University of Houston, which has spoken out against UT's planned expansion to 300 acres in the city since it was first announced this past fall, declined an invitation from Chancellor William McRaven to join the task force,the Houston Chronicle reports. UH did not immediately respond to the Chronicle's request for comment.

 

Edited February 10, 2016 by AREJAY

[HoustonIsHome]

International air and seaports have little to do with research. I'm thinking it has more to do with the brain power of TMC.

Like all these "valleys" innovation tend to come in clusters, and TMC is the strongest congregation of mental will in Texas and maybe the entire south.

If an excuse for the location needs to be had then that would be it.

[ADCS]

International air and seaports have little to do with research. I'm thinking it has more to do with the brain power of TMC.

Like all these "valleys" innovation tend to come in clusters, and TMC is the strongest congregation of mental will in Texas and maybe the entire south.

If an excuse for the location needs to be had then that would be it.

 

Saving money on bringing top experts into town, along with shipping precision crafted tools and supplies, doesn't have a lot to do with research?

 

Transportation is everything when it comes to harnessing brainpower.

[htownproud]

International air and seaports have little to do with research. I'm thinking it has more to do with the brain power of TMC.

Like all these "valleys" innovation tend to come in clusters, and TMC is the strongest congregation of mental will in Texas and maybe the entire south.

If an excuse for the location needs to be had then that would be it.

This gets back to my concern with this project.  What does the proposed campus mean for TMC3 and UT's participation in same?  A turf war between two state schools should not be the deciding factor on whether this goes forward.    

[HoustonIsHome]

Saving money on bringing top experts into town, along with shipping precision crafted tools and supplies, doesn't have a lot to do with research?

Transportation is everything when it comes to harnessing brainpower.

No it doesn't, and no it isn't. If transportation was a major player then silicon valley would either be in SF/Oakland or LA/long beach instead of SJ to be closer to the major airports and seaports.

You are making it seem like Austin isn't a short connecting flight from IAH or DFW. Austin isn't all that hard to get to.

In medieval times Geniuses clustered in Alexandria and made lots of discoveries there. Sane thing is happening in Silicon Valley, same is happening in the Research Triangle, same at TMC. A cluster of brainpower seems to be far more important than worrying about bringing expects to town. I would be more apt to locate my research near Stanford that at Port of Oakland or LAX.

[HoustonIsHome]

This gets back to my concern with this project. What does the proposed campus mean for TMC3 and UT's participation in same? A turf war between two state schools should not be the deciding factor on whether this goes forward.

Exactly, and I'd you scroll back this has been my concern from the start.

Will this enhance TMC through or fracture and water it down.

TMC has developed to what it is by cooperation between member organization (of which UT is a huge player) from the start I fear that UT doing its own thing might water down TMC expansion and fracture it's might. I would be more at ease if UT'S plans were more adjacent to TMC and more focused on TMC3 first

[ADCS]

No it doesn't, and no it isn't. If transportation was a major player then silicon valley would either be in SF/Oakland or LA/long beach instead of SJ to be closer to the major airports and seaports.

You are making it seem like Austin isn't a short connecting flight from IAH or DFW. Austin isn't all that hard to get to.

In medieval times Geniuses clustered in Alexandria and made lots of discoveries there. Sane thing is happening in Silicon Valley, same is happening in the Research Triangle, same at TMC. A cluster of brainpower seems to be far more important than worrying about bringing expects to town. I would be more apt to locate my research near Stanford that at Port of Oakland or LAX.

 

You mean Alexandria, right on the Mediterranean coast and the closest spot in the Nile Delta to Greece and Italy? I think you're making my point there more than refuting it.

 

Also, the entire San Francisco Bay Area functions as an economically interconnected region, just as Greater Houston does. Its sea, road and rail connections are far denser and have a greater capacity than those between Houston and Austin. This in turn lowers transportation costs. San Jose is as far from San Francisco as Galveston is from Houston. I don't think anyone would disagree that we're tied to Galveston far more than Austin.

 

Finally, connecting flights are expensive, and when you're having to budget for hundreds if not thousands of visitors a year, even a few hundred dollars a person can add up to quite a bit. This is especially the case when you're having to ship delicate or fragile materials.

[Naviguessor]

Still trying to understand just how proximity to a Seaport has anything to do with a research campus. 

[ADCS]

Still trying to understand just how proximity to a Seaport has anything to do with a research campus. 

 

Lots of things are shipped all over the world in containers. They're the backbone of the modern global economy.

 

You want a high-tech particle accelerator? It's probably going to be constructed in Germany or Japan. It's probably going to cost tens of thousands of dollars to get it shipped to you. Road/rail freight costs are about 3-4x sea freight costs, so the 170 miles it takes to get from the Port of Houston to Austin will add another 15-20% to the costs of shipment.

 

Now, imagine you're having to make these sorts of purchases several times a year to keep up with the current state of the art in research, along with making your talent happy. Those 15-20% overruns start to add up.

 

That's why being close to a seaport is important - every penny counts when you're running an operation that large.

[HoustonIsHome]

Still trying to understand just how proximity to a Seaport has anything to do with a research campus.

I am wondering the same thing, but he is passionate in that delusion so I'm going to let him have it

[ADCS]

I am wondering the same thing, but he is passionate in that delusion so I'm going to let him have it

 

Y'all are arguing that state-of-the-art research magically appears wherever a bunch of smart people cluster together, without any logistical concerns, and I'm the delusional one? That's rich.

[Dakota79]

I hope this gets built. As much as I love UH - this is good for the city!

[Dakota79]

Frankly - we at haif have no say in whether or not this happens. But we would be foolish to wish it to happen elsewhere - as that could happen. Dallas or San Antonio would be thrilled for such a campus.

I say yes! Let it happen and UH can up their game too.

[AREJAY]

Mods, is there anyway that the 17 pages of off-topic conversation could be moved into a separate off-topic thread?

 

Although the arguments about PUF funds and college enrollments is enthralling, the one-page worth of actual development information and news is getting awfully hard to sort through. 

Edited February 18, 2016 by AREJAY

[swtsig]

Mods, is there anyway that the 17 pages of off-topic conservation could be moved into a separate off-topic thread?

 

Although the arguments about PUF funds and college enrollments is enthralling, the one-page worth of actual development information and news is getting awfully hard to sort through. 

 

agreed.

[Urbannizer]

Done

 

http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/32822-modern-education/

[Twinsanity02]

Thank you Urbannizer

[OkieEric]

UT closed on another 50 acres

[cloud713]

UT closed on another 50 acres

Great news! They are about halfway to acquiring the full 300+ acre plot.

[monarch]

UT WRITES BACK TO UH PEN PALS, LAWMAKERS ON HOUSTON CAMPUS PLANS University of Texas Chancellor Bill McRaven sent a letter yesterday afternoonto a list of higher-ups in Texas higher education and in the state legislature. McRaven’s letter comes in response to a February lettersigned by 35 former University of Houston regents and addressed to the same crowd; that letter followed UT’s January purchase of 100 acres near the intersection of Willowbend Dr. and Buffalo Spdwy. for a planned Houston campus. Yesterday’s letter from McRaven repeated past assertions that the still-ambiguously-purposed land would not become another university, and that UT is not trying to hinder UH’s development as a research institution, adding that “it takes two or more to collaborate.” McRaven also writes that UT is including the state higher-ed coordinating board on its task force to determine what to do with the new space, and asks if those opposing the expansion are “really convincedthat Houston, the fourth largest and most international city in the U.S., has all it needs in terms of intellectual and innovative horsepower for the decades ahead?”[uT System via Dallas Morning News; previously on Swamplot] 

[nyc_tex]

To suggest UH's antagonism to this clandestine and unethical plan is anti-competition is both disingenuous and a straw man argument. One first has to ask why did UT feel compelled to hide it? If it's on the up and up, no need for secrecy. But we know the answer to this as UT circumvented the proper procedures and protocols and pursued this purchase and plan without state awareness and approval.

 

Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations argues free enterprise and competition leads to better quality of goods and services and cheaper prices (which has been disproved through deregulation already) when private ownership of the means of production and equal access to resources by the proprietors also is met. Neither is applicable here. Both are state, non-profit organizations created with a state mission for the state's best interest, not the best interest of itself. Thus, even applying the notion of competition is a non-starter as this isn't free enterprise or profit driven.

 

Now, one can make the argument that the creation of this new "non" campus, campus (Truthiness!) benefits the state but that argument is only sound if UH is given equal access to equal funding. I have no doubt UH would take no issue with UT opening a campus in Houston, if the state stops the oligopoly of resources by UT and A&M. Nice attempt at dis-empowering UH by assimilating their interests into a cacophony of many. And the crocodile tears afterwards. Nice, UT at its finest.

 

Why is UT and A&M afraid of competition? Open up PUF, divide equally and embrace competition! Competition helps everyone, right?

 

Oh, wait. UT only embraces and uses competition as rhetoric when they start the race 3 miles ahead of its competition.

 

 

Edited March 3, 2016 by nyc_tex

[monarch]

To suggest UH's antagonism to this clandestine and unethical plan is anti-competition is both disingenuous and a straw man argument. One first has to ask why did UT feel compelled to hide it? If it's on the up and up, no need for secrecy. But we know the answer to this as UT circumvented the proper procedures and protocols and pursued this purchase and plan without state awareness and approval.

 

Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations argues free enterprise and competition leads to better quality of goods and services and cheaper prices (which has been disproved through deregulation already) when private ownership of the means of production and equal access to resources by the proprietors also is met. Neither is applicable here. Both are state, non-profit organizations created with a state mission for the state's best interest, not the best interest of itself. Thus, even applying the notion of competition is a non-starter as this isn't free enterprise or profit driven.

 

Now, one can make the argument that the creation of this new "non" campus, campus (Truthiness!) benefits the state but that argument is only sound if UH is given equal access to equal funding. I have no doubt UH would take no issue with UT opening a campus in Houston, if the state stops the oligopoly of resources by UT and A&M. Nice attempt at dis-empowering UH by assimilating their interests into a cacophony of many. And the crocodile tears afterwards. Nice, UT at its finest.

 

Why is UT and A&M afraid of competition? Open up PUF, divide equally and embrace competition! Competition helps everyone, right?

 

Oh, wait. UT only embraces and uses competition as rhetoric when they start the race 3 miles ahead of its competition.

^^^ no matter how hyper-aggressive the oft unproven rhetoric, or how very soft / nuanced / eloquent / articulated the spin...

at the very end of the day, it always reverts right back to the vast fortune of TEXAS!

sheeesh... who knew??

[nyc_tex]

 

^^^ no matter how hyper-aggressive the oft unproven rhetoric, or how very soft / nuanced / eloquent / articulated the spin...

at the very end of the day, it always reverts right back to the vast fortune of TEXAS!

sheeesh... who knew??

 

 

Indeed. Too bad the long standing quasi-cabal of good ol' boys have controlled all that Texas STATE money and other citizens (how dare they!) believe rigged systems are contrary to American values, unproductive to most citizens, if not, possibly unconstitutional. But again, who needs to make clear, sound arguments when ad hominem attacks are much easier. Oy vey.

 

 

Edited March 3, 2016 by nyc_tex

[monarch]

Indeed. Too bad the long standing quasi-cabal of good ol' boys have controlled all that Texas STATE money and other citizens (how dare they!) believe rigged systems are contrary to American values, unproductive to most citizens, if not, possibly unconstitutional. But again, who needs to make clear, sound arguments when ad hominem attacks are much easier. Oy vey.

^^^ those attributed "ad hominem" attacks very often perform their intended duties.

especially in lieu of the radical / rambunctious pejoratives.

oy vey indeed...

[Montrose1100]

http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/32822-modern-education/page-14 Thanks Guys 

[Sellanious Caesar]

This will not be a 4 year university. It won't be a UT Houston. They want the campus for research and collaborative projects it seems like. 

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/morning_call/2016/06/heres-what-utcould-do-with-its-houston-campus.html

[ADCS]

16 hours ago, Sellanious Caesar said:

This will not be a 4 year university. It won't be a UT Houston. They want the campus for research and collaborative projects it seems like. 

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/morning_call/2016/06/heres-what-utcould-do-with-its-houston-campus.html

 

My guess is that the primary purpose for the campus is proximity to major rail, air and sea connections, minimizing costs both for personnel and equipment.

[bobruss]

Okay, I said it in jest back at the beginning of this thread that perhaps we should suggest a membership in the big12 might soothe our anger.

I got mocked but read this link in  hookem either yesterday or recently. I guess they listened.

 Uhttp://www.hookem.com/story/texas-lawmakers-line-support-houstons-bid-join-big-12/

[monarch]

1 hour ago, bobruss said:

Okay, I said it in jest back at the beginning of this thread that perhaps we should suggest a membership in the big12 might soothe our anger.

I got mocked but read this link in  hookem either yesterday or recently. I guess they listened.

 Uhttp://www.hookem.com/story/texas-lawmakers-line-support-houstons-bid-join-big-12/

 

^^^ @bobruss there is already a thread on-going in HAIF sports etc... nonetheless, you were correct....

[AREJAY]

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/UT-regent-nominees-decry-university-s-planned-10887427.php

 

For those stuck behind a pay wall: Google the title and click the first link. 

 

This one is looking a bit more shaky.

 

Quote

Two of Gov. Greg Abbott's three nominees to join the University of Texas System board of regents on Thursday criticized the system's move to buy considerable land in Houston for expansion during their confirmation hearing before a state Senate panel.

Quote

The UT board of regents will ultimately need to approve McRaven's recommendations for use of the Houston land, and he said Thursday during a separate Senate finance committee hearing that he will wait until new regents join the board before bringing recommendations before the group. The Senate nominations panel will vote on the governor's three regent nominations on Feb. 2.

 

Quote

Meanwhile, one of the nominees critical of the Houston project - Janiece Longoria, chair of the Port of Houston Authority and formerly a member of UT's advisory group for how to use the land - said she did not think UT's expansion in Houston "could ever be successful" without local lawmakers' support.

Longoria also said she's not in favor of using the Permanent University Fund - a massive source of funding from oil and gas holdings for UT and the Texas A&M University System that cannot be used by the UH system - for the Houston project. The UT spokeswoman said Longoria was part of the advisory group from March 2016 until leaving earlier this month due to "conflicting commitments."

Another of Abbott's regent nominees, former state Sen. Kevin Eltife, told the Senate nominations panel Thursday he wanted the Houston project "stopped."

"I want someone to explain to me how we spent $200 million on a piece of dirt and we don't know the use of it," he said.

 

Edited January 27, 2017 by AREJAY