The Houston Chronicle reports this morning that Baylor University “has been making serious overtures to bring [BCM] back into the fold.” I hope to have more time to comment on this later, but my initial thoughts on this idea are all negative.
It’s clear why Baylor U. would want BCM. BCM is the #1 medical school in Texas. It’s internationally recognized and generates hundreds of millions in annual grant revenue. But I don’t see what are the benefits to BCM?
- Baylor U isn’t very financially secure itself. It has one of the lowest endowment per student ratios in the country.
- Baylor U is 200 miles away. So there won’t a lot of opportunity for collaboration between BCM and Baylor faculty, or course offerings to BCM students. Since, BCM has limited course offerings, BCM students needing deeper courses in math, stats, physics, chemistry, or computer science classes typically take these classes at Rice.
- Baylor U isn’t a tier 1 research university. Such a merger will have a detrimental effect on BCM’s brand and prestige. And in academics, prestige is everything. BCM will lose faculty and, subsequently, lose it’s appeal to the top students.
I hope to have more to say later.
