Why UGA Won't Be in AAU

I wrote yesterday about how UGA (where I profess) would dearly love to be invited to the prom -- in this case, the Association of American Universities, the organization of the top research schools. I predicted an invitation by 2017 that elite group of 62.

I'd like to take that back.

First, there's this story about a couple of schools either nudged out or who left the organization, complaining:

...the metrics the group uses to assess its members define the contributions of high-quality research universities too narrowly, focusing excessively on biomedical research and the volume of federally supported research.

UGA does a good bit of this kind of stuff, but not anywhere near enough given there's no sizeable research medical school located within the university.

Plus, among the list of indicators is how the schools rank in terms of NSF, USDA, and other grant funding. I looked it up. UGA is #83 on one NSF list, #84 on another. I couldn't quickly located other rankings, but I'd expect us to be a bit higher on the USDA stuff, but not so much as to overwhelm the underwhelming ranks in the 80s.

So that 2017 prediction? Never mind.