Comments on: Rice-Baylor Merger: Yup http://swamplot.com/rice-baylor-merger-yup/2009-03-26/ Houston, Texas real estate development, home buying, landscape, and design Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:23:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: RWB http://swamplot.com/rice-baylor-merger-yup/2009-03-26/#comment-23915 RWB Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:07:46 +0000 http://swamplot.com/?p=7720#comment-23915 Yes and no. About four years ago, I heard David Leebron addressing a group of Rice employees about future plans for Rice. His long-term goal was to make Rice a more prominent university, and it seems to me that he basically thought Rice's problem was that it was too small. So he spoke of expanding graduate programs as well as the undergraduate population (which is being done with the addition of two new colleges). Someone asked him about a law school or a medical school, and his answer lead me to believe that he had given very serious thought to both. But he mused out loud about the difficulties of running a medical school. Baylor itself made a few bad moves that have left it in a financially perilous place, even thought it retains a good reputation as a school. (Some details here: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6083117.html and here: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/side2/3048042.html). So given Rice's (and especially Leebron's) desire to grow, Baylor's need for a white knight, their fantastic proximity, and the excellent academic reputations of both schools, it seems pretty logical that these negotiations would occur. Yes and no. About four years ago, I heard David Leebron addressing a group of Rice employees about future plans for Rice. His long-term goal was to make Rice a more prominent university, and it seems to me that he basically thought Rice’s problem was that it was too small. So he spoke of expanding graduate programs as well as the undergraduate population (which is being done with the addition of two new colleges). Someone asked him about a law school or a medical school, and his answer lead me to believe that he had given very serious thought to both. But he mused out loud about the difficulties of running a medical school.

Baylor itself made a few bad moves that have left it in a financially perilous place, even thought it retains a good reputation as a school. (Some details here: http://www.chron.com/disp/stor.....83117.html and here: http://www.chron.com/disp/stor.....48042.html).

So given Rice’s (and especially Leebron’s) desire to grow, Baylor’s need for a white knight, their fantastic proximity, and the excellent academic reputations of both schools, it seems pretty logical that these negotiations would occur.

]]> By: JW http://swamplot.com/rice-baylor-merger-yup/2009-03-26/#comment-23906 JW Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:29:27 +0000 http://swamplot.com/?p=7720#comment-23906 Is this due to perceived (or concrete, as I am uncertain) financial difficulties at Baylor Med? Is this due to perceived (or concrete, as I am uncertain) financial difficulties at Baylor Med?

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