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When @kevinrmcclure @warshawdrj @MattDeMonbrun approached me about contributing to a New Directions for Higher Ed volume they were conceptualizing that would address misconceptions about and contributions of Regional Universities I was stoked. Thread... https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15360741
One myth I'm constantly working to bust (which I address in my chapter) is that all Regionals are striving for prestige. So I wrote a conceptual piece that tests and disrupts the dominant narrative that Regionals are prestige-hungry, mission/identity-less, confused institutions.
Re: prior research, I highlight lack of scholarly engagement with the tripartite mission of RCUs, which I have conceptualized elsewhere as being focused on facilitating regional service, educational access, and student-centeredness. https://openjournals.libs.uga.edu/jheoe/article/view/1387
Most scholars get and emphasize the access mission. But most will say that any research activity or efforts to add graduate programs among Regionals is an indicator of striving. Yet as I and others have found, many Regionals do community-based research in service to regions ...
... and add graduate degrees to meet regional workforce demands (e.g. for nursing and ed. doctorates). Both activities are in fulfillment of their regional service mission. As such, some indicators of prestige-seeking have been misused for and misapplied to Regionals.
I also discuss how much highly-cited research about striving Regionals has been situated in Texas which mandated striving. Given this context, we must be careful about making assumptions about the entire sector based on this research (as good as it is!). http://www.texasresearchalliance.org/advancement_to_tier-one_status/
I also look at media reporting for the sector and show Regionals are largely ignored by national media and, when they are covered, the challenges of individual Regionals are assumed to be challenges of all institutions in the sector.
To demonstrate how they're ignored, I searched @insidehighered's website for “Ivy League” (which has 8 colleges) which returned 43 pages of stories. By contrast, a search for “Regional Public University/Universities” (which has 400+ institutions) returned just 5 pages of stories.
Finally, I highlight local/city-level/state-level media reporting about Regionals which revealed for more nuanced and appreciative reporting than national media. This is likely because local media understand how important their Regional is to their locality.
Clearly prestige-seeking Regionals exist and I do not advocate for glossing over this. Prestige-seeking among Regionals carries serious implications for college access, upward mobility, and regional wellbeing as it detracts from the sector’s vital mission—full stop.
What I hope I show, though, is that the sector is far more mission-centered and complex than the dominant narrative indicates. Bottom line: Not all Regionals strive for prestige. Many remain highly-mission centered despite being ignored or misunderstood + underfunded.
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. 
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