All good issues, but I'd turn Matt's comment around for the following "Before attending to structural and curricular details, I'd want the powers that be (and/or those willing to finance a university) to explain in very clear terms what THEIR vision of the country's future looks like". I'd love to hear this for the U.S.
In this case, THEIR vision is that someday the country will have the expertise to manage its own resources without expatriate expertise, that the university will reflect "the better angels of our nature", rather than the conflicts of today, and that you can't separate nature, people and extractive industries. Most universities have been founded with their heads in the clouds and their feet in the mud. This one in its planning stages is no different. One has to plan a curriculum while at the same time making sure the toilets flush downwards! One advantage however is that it will be free of most of the bureaucracy and regulations that are stifling American universities. I'd like to thank everyone who commented. There were a lot of useful suggestions. If this really gets going and I stay involved, I'd like to come back to folks on the issues they have raised. Cheers, David On Wed, Jul 18, 201rdr2 at 8:25 PM, Matt Chew <[email protected]> wrote: > There are many potentially devilish details to identify and consider. It's > not clear to me from David's scenario that founding a university is a good > investment. The chance that a developing country can begin producing > competitive academic-theoretical expertise in petroleum or hard mineral > extraction, processing or marketing seems remote. That expertise is > already for sale. Ecotourism and cultural tourism aspirations aren't > necessarily best served by instituting degree programs. Before attending > to structural and curricular details, I'd want the powers that be (and/or > those willing to finance a university) to explain in very clear terms what > THEIR vision of the country's future looks like, why they think founding a > university would help them realize that vision, and how long they expect > their heirs and assigns to remain in charge. > > Matthew K Chew > Arizona State University School of Life Sciences > > ASU Center for Biology & Society > PO Box 873301 > Tempe, AZ 85287-3301 USA > Tel 480.965.8422 > Fax 480.965.8330 > [email protected] or [email protected] > http://cbs.asu.edu/people/profiles/chew.php > http://asu.academia.edu/MattChew > -- Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit Botany University of Hawaii 3190 Maile Way Honolulu Hawaii 96822 USA 1-808-956-8218
