Excerpt
Kelly Doran faced a choice: Work as a professor at the U.S. News & World Report's 35th best university in the country or the 183rd.
It was easy. She chose the 183rd.
Doran joined the faculty of San Diego State University three years ago after completing her doctorate and postdoctoral work in biology at school No. 35, the University of California, San Diego. Although she holds an adjunct faculty position at UCSD and could work there if she wanted to, she teaches and does her research at SDSU.
"I could do high-powered research at UCSD, but I really like that interaction with students, to help develop their love of science and their future careers," she said. "It's more work, but there's more of a reward."
Like many who choose to work and study at SDSU, Doran likes the school's close-knit environment and its emphasis on teaching. She is also part of a growing group at the school who do not think their careers or the quality of their research are sacrificed because they work or study at a less prestigious school with fewer graduate students and resources like lab space and equipment.
This attitude likely would not have been possible 10 or even five years ago, but SDSU has transformed in recent years to a university that produces significant research. The school pulled in $150 million in grants and contracts last year -- a funding level only about 100 universities in the country reach. SDSU has been ranked as the most productive small research university in the country for four years in a row.
SDSU faculty said their school's increased research funding -- up by more than $15 million from two years ago -- and growing emphasis on research allows them to produce significant scientific work. And students said they benefit from both these quality research opportunities and hands-on teaching.
But there is a trade-off.
SDSU is growing, but its transformation into a serious research university is not yet complete. The school still has less money and fewer resources to support its science than is available at larger schools (for example, UCSD brought in $1 billion in funding last year).
And it is still struggling to ditch its reputation as just another Cal State school that takes second billing to the powerhouse UCSD. Until that reputation is shed completely, students and professors at SDSU still have to contend with occasional scientific snobbery and questions over whether their careers will be limited by the school they attended.
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