https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktake...anges-name

Quote:The Committee on Institutional Cooperation is today changing its name to the Big Ten Academic Alliance. The committee has coordinated academic initiatives to promote research collaboration and to take advantage of joint purchasing opportunities. The group said that it wanted a new name because the old one didn't necessary convey its activities and the acronym CIC was confusing because of another CIC, the Council of Independent Colleges.

The Committee on Institutional Cooperation had as its members the Big Ten universities and also the University of Chicago. Chicago will no longer be a member under the new name. A spokesman for Chicago said via email that while the university "will not be a formal member going forward, we plan to continue our academic collaborations with the organization and its member institutions. We are currently working with the consortium to continue our participation in the programs related to library services, IT, language instruction and other areas that benefit our campus as well as the broader academic community."

End of an era, huh? Since now U of C won't be officially part of this that would put a huge dent to the hopes of some for Hopkins joining in the future.

Btw, here's the new link: http://www.btaa.org/homepage

JHU does have men's lacrosse as an affiliate member so I don't see how the name change would sway their inclination either way. U of C made the decision years ago to withdraw from the Big 10 athletic conference but continued to associate academically. This is much ado about nothing except academic snobbery from U of C to be directly associated with the Big 10.

I don't get it? Did Chicago leave or were they pushed out... in either case why?

(07-01-2016 06:38 AM)Big Ron Buckeye Wrote:  I don't get it? Did Chicago leave or were they pushed out... in either case why?

I wouldn't say pushed out, but were not accepted under the new branding. They will be placed under a new title.

(07-01-2016 06:38 AM)Big Ron Buckeye Wrote:  I don't get it? Did Chicago leave or were they pushed out... in either case why?

I think if you really want to know "why," the first step is asking yourself what relationship, if any, does the CIC have with the BTN.

I think it has to do with the lobbying for federal dollars. The Big Ten name has more cache within Washington than CIC. Still, I didn't think that Chicago needed to be dropped from formal membership. Chicago was a Big Ten member in good standing decades ago and is still one of the more elites colleges in the country.

Anyway, it may be all be a misunderstanding:

Quote:Allen said they're still trying to figure out what to call the University of Chicago, since it is not a member of the athletic conference, but the change won't impact their role in the alliance.

"They'll continue to be a partner institution, and we're working on what we'll call that," Allen said. "The relationship will continue to be very strong, they'll just have a different name."

UI Provost Ed Feser said he thinks the name change will bring more awareness to the organization.

"This is a great decision," Feser said in a statement. "The move will help bring our member institutions the same instant, international recognition for our academic achievements as it has for our athletic programs. The CIC has been a well-kept secret for too long. That changes today."

The name was decided by consulting with leaders and communication experts from each of the member universities.

"We just kept coming back to who are we. We're the Big Ten universities," she said.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2...ility.html



ETA: http://www.btaa.org/about/expansion/name-change-faq

Q. How will this affect the University of Chicago?

A. The University of Chicago has been an important partner to us for many decades. Although the University of Chicago will no longer be a formal member, our partnership will continue. We are working out the specifics around that in the coming weeks and months.


It seems to me that they're using a standard that U of C can't be a formal member because they don't participate in any of the sponsored Big Ten sports. If that's the case then it does raise a question on whether affiliate sports members (eg: Johns Hopkins) can become formal members if they choose to apply.