<p>Gravitas:</p>
<p>I completely agree with you, and I think we’re already seeing signs of UChicago slipping in terms of its relevance regarding major STEM research. I think even just bolstering the comp sci dep’t (which is not especially highly rated) would be helpful.</p>
<p>Opening an engineering school would be a monumental undertaking, and would take time to be “digestible” to key UChicago stakeholders (like the faculty). Even schools with engineering schools, like Princeton and Yale, are facing the very real possibility of falling behind the juggernaut that is Stanford. </p>
<p>I think what you’ll eventually see is that UChicago will maintain its standing as an elite “intellectual” center, but it won’t be a major player in terms of STEM. Hopkins, Columbia, Penn, and NU will probably be bigger players on that front. Cornell has made big strides in this front too. UChicago will maintain a very elite liberal arts college, and for classic academic disciplines - physics, chemistry, history, economics - it’ll maintain excellent standing. For STEM, though, location plays a factor - and UChicago’s geographic location is a big detriment. The East and West Coasts continue to be the hubs for this economic growth.</p>
<p>Frankly, it may be a bit of too little too late.</p>