As I drive around New Orleans, I’m constantly amazed by the amount of construction that’s going on and how the city is looking better and better.

But then I read the news and see articles like this one (“Saying goodbye to the University of New Orleans”).

I’m glad that this article pointed out all the problems that UNO is facing. I’m a proud alumna of UNO, and I cannot emphasize enough how good an education I received at the University. Not only were my studies and faculty of superior quality, but I personally experienced a profound caring for my welfare by the university and faculty when I was critically injured in a car accident. My professors literally saved my life and got me back on my feet. I owe a huge debt to UNO, and so do a great number of the graduates who now constitute a large portion of the city and region’s middle class. The Jazz Studies program has created some of the finest musicians in the city. I want UNO to survive.

One thing I learned about UNO, though, is that one of its greatest strengths is also the source of a serious weakness.

My degree is in Hotel Restaurant and Tourism Administration (aka “HRT”). I left New Orleans right after I graduated to work as an intern at a CPA firm, with southeastern headquarters in Miami, that had a Management Advisory Services division. There were probably 12 people in that division. Some had degrees from “prestigious” universities, with Cornell being one of the predominant names (Cornell is renowned for its hospitality management degrees). Now, these people were not any better educated than I was. But what they did have was a serious commitment to their university that was reinforced by networking with fellow alumni who were also working in the industry.

UNO offers a superb education, but it doesn’t offer that “collegiate” experience that’s available at some other universities. Let’s face it: UNO students aren’t particularly interested in partying like Tulanians do. Nor are they wrapped up in promoting UNO’s sports teams. UNO students are serious about getting an education, they work hard at it, and they go there—if they’re local—because they can get a great education at a relatively affordable price. But that means they view UNO as utilitarian, not as an “experience.” That’s what’s lacking at UNO.

UNO’s inability to get moral and financial support from its graduates has long been one of the university’s major problems, and they still have not figured out how to engage their graduates, especially for financial support. UNO is a classic case of a “commuter college,” where the (sometimes lifelong) camaraderie and networking that develops amongst students who live on campus just does not happen.

Of course, the bigger problem is that UNO has always been a stepchild in the university system statewide, overshadowed by LSU, whose sports program certainly dominates its fundraising efforts and its appeal to alumni. Bobby Jindal’s administration was the worst thing that ever happened to UNO, and the cuts in the university’s funding have been devastating. They’ve not only been catastrophic; they could potentially be the death knell for UNO, which is shameful. Did you know that UNO only received about 25 percent of its funding from the state in the past couple of years?

Maybe UNO should solicit funding from the many, many corporations in the city whose workforce is a product of a UNO education.

How about the Saints becoming a corporate sponsor of UNO? God knows if they want to charge double digits for a beer at a Saints game, perhaps the Bensons can give back to the city’s premier university and support its contributions to the city in a much bigger way.

I venture to say that if UNO had the money that Tulane does—which comes from grants, fantastic public relations, corporate support and donations from the wealthy alumni who had lots of fun in New Orleans and who want to give back to their higher learning institution—UNO could become a private entity and tell the state to go to hell.

I know this is simplistic, and there are a lot of deeper issues here, but the main one is money. Becoming a private university could certainly turn things around for UNO.

If you’re a UNO alum: get involved, talk to your employers and encourage them to support the university. UNO leadership: you’re doing what you have to do to survive, but it’s not going to get any easier unless you guys can figure out how to get some private money into the institution. It’s time for a strategy change. It’s time to fish or cut bait with the state. Make that your goal: privatize.