<p>Again, I love Oswego and wouldn’t trade my time there for anything. The problem is that the SUNY systam has no U-Michigan, UVA, UC(fill in 2 or 3). I think winning division 1 sports teams on a campus would generate student and alumni loyalty and also drive revenue into the system. Also, how about the legislature designating a flagship campus and offering “1400 SAT and you get tuition, room and board for 4 years”. Call it honors and cap it at 1,000 students for that 1campus and then market the he!! out of it. This may have initial start up costs and run at a loss, but in the long run, when rankings rise and recruiters start showing up from the likes of Boos-Alan Hamilton and Goldma Sachs seeking these students, it will start a snowball effect and serious brand equity will place the the school with the likes of the nation’s finest. The entire SUNY system would benefit. I don’t understand why the state has been so stubborn in keeping a low profile and watching the best and brightest pack up and move out of state. They can have their flagship University and still maintain a system of great mid sized liberal arts college. </p>
<p>Going to high school in the 80’s, I remember “smart” kids who went to SUNY going to Binghamtom or Geneseo- not because it was a dream school, but because it was the best cheap school they could afford. In contrast, there are students in other states that, cost being equal, have state universities they would rather go to even if admitted to the Cornell’s and Colgate’s of the world. Suny has no such school. Geneseo COULD compete with mid/upper liberal arts colleges for students and more importantly recruiters on the merrits of student quality, but they do a great dis-service to the value of their degree on the open market by not marketing their strengths. I just don’t get why the resistance. I know people in college who were rejected by Geneseo and admitted to Cornell. Why SUNY doesn’t do a better job at advertising their strengths is completely missed by me.</p>