<p>hawkette should be proud that her alma mater is moving up the USNWR rankings…tOSU is a pretty good public university.</p>
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<p>Not that you guys care about the details of this most likely…so feel free to ignore this post, but just thought I’d clear the air. Yes, the earliest precursor to Duke was founded in 1838. But this was a single building SCHOOLHOUSE in rural North Carolina whose sole purpose was to educate local Methodists and Quakers in Randolph County, North Carolina. That’s clearly not a picture of a world-class research university. The school didn’t even offer a degree for 20 years. It finally changed its name to Trinity college in 1859 when the Methodist Church decided to support the school - it’s mission was simply to train Methodist preachers for free. Again, not the picture of a world-class research university. </p>
<p>The university didn’t move to Durham until 1892 when somebody donated some land (somebody also offered land in Raleigh, but it wasn’t as much, so they chose Durham instead). Finally, James B Duke established the Duke Endowment in 1924 (which is a separate charitable entity), much of the money of which was to go to Trinity College. (Other money was to go to and still does to this day go to Davidson, Furman, as well as local churches and hospitals.) The Trinity College president at the time told James B. Duke that they should change the university’s name to honor his father, Washington Duke. The naming rights were not sold. James B Duke established the Duke Endowment to help local institutions, particular those with Methodist affiliations, as well as local churches and hospitals, and the president of Trinity thought this generosity deserved recognition. Because of the established endowment, the main campus (West Campus) was finally build in the late 20s. James B. Duke died a year later in 1925, and left the remainder of his money to the Duke endowment with instructions on how it should be allocated. </p>
<p>Duke University would not exist if James B Duke had died a year earlier most likely. Duke also wouldn’t exist if he had lived and established the endowment in 1930 after the stock market crash. Despite the popular belief that James B Duke got most of his money from his tobacco and power companies (which certainly did make him wealthy), it was actually his investments that made him really really rich. Luckily for the university, he bequeathed the huge sum before the stock market crash in 1929. Sorry for the history lesson for those uninterested.</p>
<p>So, yeah, Duke as a legitimate university didn’t begin until the 1920s; clearly it wouldn’t have been invited as an inaugural AAU member. It’s quite a new university when comparing to other elite institutions. Harvard and the like had great sums of money and great professors at the onset - Duke did not.</p>
<p>bluedog-- sorry, but the history of Duke is not unique to most colleges in the US. Almost all of the older universities were started under different names, in one building (often one room) with the sole purpose of preparing preachers for some sect of Christianity, etc. The idea that Duke doesn’t start until it’s name was Duke and it had a substantial endowment is ridiculous. Different universities certainly grew at different paces for different reasons at different times, but that doesn’t magically change the founding date of Duke.</p>
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<p>Yes, and in its first few years Harvard was single building schoolhouse in rural Massachusetts whose sole purpose was to educate local Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.</p>
<p>When did Harvard confer its first set of degrees upon students? I bet the date is still a good 300 years before Duke did.</p>
<p>^^I’ll take that bet.</p>
<p>Harvard held its first Commencement in 1642, so 300 years later would be 1942 - a little less than a hundred years AFTER Duke began giving degrees in the mid 1850s. But what is the point here? Everybody knows that Harvard is older than Duke, and Harvard began giving degrees first. So what else is new? Harvard awarded degrees before <em>every</em> college in the US, including Duke. </p>
<p>I’m no particular Duke partisan one way or the other. I have no connection to the school. But my point was Duke’s humble beginnings mean little if anything today. Pretty much every college began small and humble. What counts a lot more is what the college is today.</p>
<p>My two cents-if there was ever an organization that cemented the phrase “anti-catholicism is the anti-seminitsm of the intellectual” it is this organization. Notre Dame, Georgetown and Fordham should have been members from the mid 1960s and Boston College from the 1980s, if this list was truly reflective of the “prestigious research universities.”</p>
<p>Looking at this list, St. Louis U should probably be a candidate as well.</p>
<p>^Why do you believe that these unis were left out because of their religious affiliation? BC and Fordham IMO aren’t really research universities, and ND could probably be thrown into that category as well.</p>
<p>I have to laugh at some of the ridiculous statements that I read here on CC. Regarding schools like ND, some of you guys want it both ways. In one breath, schools like ND are undergraduate focused, so they aren’t great research universities. In the next breath, they aren’t members of a prestigious group of research universities because there is anti-Catholic bias. Please, enough already!</p>
<p>I like Table 7 on page 44. ;-)</p>
<p>Link: [Documents</a> Related to U. of Nebraska’s AAU Membership Review - Administration - The Chronicle of Higher Education](<a href=“Documents Related to U. of Nebraska’s AAU Membership Review”>Documents Related to U. of Nebraska’s AAU Membership Review)</p>
<p>Brandeis’ rapid rise in the post-war era to AAU membership also is remarkable. This is especially true given its significant focus on undergraduate liberal arts education and its small student body–approximately 3200 undergrads and 2000 grad students.</p>
<p>Quote:</p>
<p>The Financial Express: Agencies
Posted: Monday, Oct 24, 2011 at 1348 hrs IST</p>
<p>"Ohio State University of the US is to open its office in Mumbai as part of its strategy to integrate international dimensions into its teaching, research and engagement mission.</p>
<p>As universities across the US prepare their students to excel in the global market place, Ohio State University is implementing a strategy that will integrate with the scenario, said E Gordon Gee, President of Ohio State University. </p>
<p>Gee said when fully operational, the Global Gateways will be multi-faceted centres that capitalise on strengths of the university’s growing connections around the world through faculty teaching and research, study abroad, university partnerships, alumni, international students and Ohio businesses.</p>
<p>In February 2010, Ohio State opened a Gateway office in the downtown business district of Shanghai, China, and currently is examining additional opportunities in India, Brazil, Turkey, sub-Saharan Africa and Europe, he said.</p>
<p>Once the plans are in place, the India Gateway will be located in Mumbai.</p>
<p>The India Gateway will advance OSU’s international mission and provide Ohio State with a base of operations for faculty research, teaching and international partnerships with Indian educational institutions, portal for study abroad opportunities, location for global student recruitment and centre for executive and corporate training and a new way to partner with Ohio-based businesses operating globally.</p>
<p>It will also serve as a point of contact to strengthen connections among Ohio State students, faculty, alumni, and friends of the university in Ohio and India."</p>
<p>Source: [Ohio</a> State University to open office in Mumbai](<a href=“http://www.financialexpress.com/news/ohio-state-university-to-open-office-in-mumbai/864736/3]Ohio”>http://www.financialexpress.com/news/ohio-state-university-to-open-office-in-mumbai/864736/3)</p>
<p>Sparkeye’s thinking: “I don’t know where this goes but I’m just gonna drop it in here.”</p>
<p>^^^Here is a suggestion for sparkeye where to place his post. lol</p>
<p>[Ohio</a> State University - Columbus - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/ohio-state-university-columbus/]Ohio”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/ohio-state-university-columbus/)</p>
<p>Georgia Tech was not added until 2010? </p>
<p>There goes all credibility.</p>
<p>“Sparkeye’s thinking: “I don’t know where this goes but I’m just gonna drop it in here.””</p>
<p>Pretty good read, UCB!! 
Actually I was trying to find the thread where I post when TOSU opened its first Gateway in Shanghai last year. But, I got lazy… ;o</p>
<p>"^^^Here is a suggestion for sparkeye where to place his post. lol"</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice, rjk!! I think I was supposed to post this news in ‘School on the rise’ thread. Nevertheless, I keep on seeing the word ‘research’ in this Mumbai Gateway news, so I guess it’s not completely off?!.. ;0</p>
<p>I don’t blame you for not listing it on the Ohio State thread Sparkeye. Hardly anyone goes there to post. lol</p>