• The KillerFrogs

TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine now just TCU!

Brevity Frog

Active Member
I agree that med school trumps law school if one must choose. I read the FWST article re the split. $45 /sf rent! And the lease ends in December? Where will TCU house this thing?
 

TCUdirtbag

Active Member
I agree that med school trumps law school if one must choose. I read the FWST article re the split. $45 /sf rent! And the lease ends in December? Where will TCU house this thing?

Eventually, most likely, on the $10M+ worth of land TCU has acquired over two blocks near the intersection of Rosedale and Henderson.

Until then they’ll likely extend the overpriced lease with UNTHSC.
 

Frog-in-law1995

Active Member
I have always been told the reason Wesleyan could turn the low-ball deal down was that the Basses ponied up cash to keep them afloat. I’ve never prodded at the voracity of the claim, but by 2008 Wesleyan was again in pretty dire straits and was grossly expanding their classes to bring in tuition revenue so they could pay the bills.

TCU would’ve had to compete with SMU and Baylor out the gate. Much of A&M’s success is due to there being no public law school in north Texas (UT is highly competitive, and University of North Texas Dallas’ startup struggled to even get accredited). With low tuition and deep pockets to operate at a deficit for a decade, A&M could afford to shrink the classes, buy out tenured profs and hire better ones, throw insane scholarship money at student recruiting and, frankly, decimate Texas Tech’s applicant pipeline with the promise of less debt (again through scholarship subsidies operating at a net loss) and not living in Lubbock. They also cannibalized a good chunk of the north Texas to U of H pipeline and started pulling students from higher-ranked but extremely expensive SMU. TCU never could’ve replicated that model because it rests so much on the public school price, deep state pockets, and Aggie brand.

I am extremely glad TCU swung and missed. Some people in this thread appear to think TCU could’ve done with Wesleyan what A&M has done. That is not the case. Trade an extremely challenging and expensive law school turnaround for a new MD med school 10 out of 10 times.
Never once heard anything about Bass involvement from Wesleyan folks, but agree with the rest 100%.
 

McFroggin

Active Member
I still find it absurd that there is only one Veterinarian School in the entire state of Texas....at A&M. I understand that it's a land grant university deal and is pervasive throughout the US, but TCU would be a perfect fit for a Vet program. It's a logical extension of the Ranch Management system.

It’s absurd because it’s false. Texas Tech has the 2nd vet school in Texas.
 

TCUdirtbag

Active Member
It’s absurd because it’s false. Texas Tech has the 2nd vet school in Texas.
Yeah, I was gonna say that I'm pretty sure they darn sheep in Lubbock as well.

To put a finer point on it, the most at-risk sheep (cows?) are in Amarillo. But to be fair to GF, Tech just opened in Amarillo 5 months ago.

The idea of a private institution without any real agriculture/animal science infrastructure standing up a vet med school is a bit absurd though. Are there any private institutions outside Penn, Cornell (land grant), and Tufts with a vet school?

There are also similar, if not greater, debt to income concerns for vets as there are for lawyers. It would be extremely challenging not only to stand it up at a place like TCU, but to do it in a way that’s even remotely financially responsible.
 
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hiphopfroggy

Active Member
I have always been told the reason Wesleyan could turn the low-ball deal down was that the Basses ponied up cash to keep them afloat. I’ve never prodded at the voracity of the claim, but by 2008 Wesleyan was again in pretty dire straits and was grossly expanding their classes to bring in tuition revenue so they could pay the bills.

TCU would’ve had to compete with SMU and Baylor out the gate. Much of A&M’s success is due to there being no public law school in north Texas (UT is highly competitive, and University of North Texas Dallas’ startup struggled to even get accredited). With low tuition and deep pockets to operate at a deficit for a decade, A&M could afford to shrink the classes, buy out tenured profs and hire better ones, throw insane scholarship money at student recruiting and, frankly, decimate Texas Tech’s applicant pipeline with the promise of less debt (again through scholarship subsidies operating at a net loss) and not living in Lubbock. They also cannibalized a good chunk of the north Texas to U of H pipeline and started pulling students from higher-ranked but extremely expensive SMU. TCU never could’ve replicated that model because it rests so much on the public school price, deep state pockets, and Aggie brand.

I am extremely glad TCU swung and missed. Some people in this thread appear to think TCU could’ve done with Wesleyan what A&M has done. That is not the case. Trade an extremely challenging and expensive law school turnaround for a new MD med school 10 out of 10 times.
But this was not an either or situation, TCU should have a Law school and a Medical school. TCU could have improved the standing of the Wesleyan law school substantially and made it a good purchase. No reason to compare to aTm because they wouldn't exist. TCU could have done well with the law school and started a Medical School as well.
 

TCUdirtbag

Active Member
But this was not an either or situation, TCU should have a Law school and a Medical school. TCU could have improved the standing of the Wesleyan law school substantially and made it a good purchase. No reason to compare to aTm because they wouldn't exist. TCU could have done well with the law school and started a Medical School as well.

Strongly disagree.

I also believe you entirely misread my post.
 

Virginia Frog

Active Member
Wish TCU had been interested in/willing to/able to buy the Texas Wesleyan law school years ago and keep A&M out of Fort Worth....TCU, TCU School of Medicine, TCU Law School....What a trifecta that would have been....
They closed the "TCU School of Monkey Business" when I left decades ago. I'm sure plenty of monkey business continued on but to have a professional/academic credential in that field of study certainly didn't hurt my career in fun, games and good times!:)
 

Virginia Frog

Active Member
That property we own down on Rosedale in the medical neighborhood now needs a building. If I just had $50,000,000 available, we could have a very nice building and we could then speak of the TCU Brog Medical school. Any other takers here on FF?
I heard from a source that only $49mill was necessary, perhaps you could swing that reduced amount. If that worked out, maybe I'll be able to come up with an extra mill to top it off - otherwise the Taxman will likely get it! (You'll have naming rights, too.)
 

Brog

Full Member
Given how much A&M ultimately had to spend to acquire and grow their law school, I’m glad TCU spent their money elsewhere. I want a small, boutique law school, but not at that price. We will chart our own path in time.
Have no idea whether this is true or not, but one of my friends who has connections with the AM Law school says that A&M has spent more than $250 million both to acquire the law school from Wesleyan AND build up its faculty and facilities to where it is today. Money especially invested in the faculty. If this is true, I'm not sure TCU could/would have had that much $ to spend on it. Whatever, sure glad we have the Med school now.
 

PurplFrawg

Administrator
Have no idea whether this is true or not, but one of my friends who has connections with the AM Law school says that A&M has spent more than $250 million both to acquire the law school from Wesleyan AND build up its faculty and facilities to where it is today. Money especially invested in the faculty. If this is true, I'm not sure TCU could/would have had that much $ to spend on it. Whatever, sure glad we have the Med school now.
TCU could have just hired steel as faculty and called it good.
 
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