[azcats]

What I see...are two things: 1) ASU taking advantage of metro Phoenix's booming population over the last 50 years from 1 million in the early 1970s to over 5 million today. 2) NO COMPETITION. What - Grand Canyon College? 100,000 students (88% acceptance rate) spread out over the Valley on four campuses. That way, when Crow submits his budget to the state legislators - because he has 100,000 students - he gets a lot of money. How much is diverted towards his pet projects?

Building a med school is like building a whole separate university. There are so many fields of study - no two med schools are alike. The UofA might have a great respiratory department or cancer center - another school may not even have one - at all. And it doesn't get built all at once - overnight. Every time I see something from the UofA and someone has donated $10 million...or, $20 million...or, $50 to the med school - there is a new field of study...or, institute. Sarver donates his multi-millions. Bingo, there is the Sarver Heart Institute.

Crow says no state funds. Well...what is the initial $30 million seed money?!? And it will come from the Board of Regents?!? I thought they were a Governing Board...a Policy making Board? Not a private foundation for dispersing funds. How are they getting ahold of that taxpayer's money?!? I guess if the UofA and NAU aren't squawking - it's legit. One thing is for sure - since it is taxpayer's money - I see waste. It's always easy to spend other people's money. I don't see it going very far: Feasibility and E.I.R studies, conceptual plans and drawings or, spending some overly inflated price for a piece of land for the new campus? I don't know - time will tell.

Personally, I think asu blew their chance to open a medical school 20 years ago. I think it was an embarrassment for UofA to come into ASU's backyard - literally - and build their second med school. My understanding is that the UofA is the only university in the country with two separate medical schools.