I am fairly privileged in that regard. It's true, that many research-focused universities employ a good amount of people that are researchers first, professors second. Education definitely suffers in these cases, as does it suffer (I'd wager) at universities that place sports as a consistent priority.

My university is, at the moment (this is beginning to change), industry oriented. That is that our professors aren't necessarily researchers first. Many of my professors still have industry connections, and are also somewhat involved in policy making at the Federal level. I have one professor who is consistently making weekend trips to Washington DC to talk to one person or another. At the same time, we are constructing or have constructed 4 new buildings since I arrived. Two of them are academic buildings, one is support for our deaf students, and the last is a hockey arena. This arena is in the tens of millions of dollars, but half of that cost is donated from alumni. The two academic buildings are expensive as well, with new labs, and one of them is even Platinum Leed Certified, the other is gold I believe. It's all around support and expansion, so I can't complain too much.

We're even working on funding a new radio station! That is coming entirely from fundraising though. The university has supported us by assisting in these efforts and holding the space for us, etc. That said, the bureaucracy really shines through in a project like this...

Oh yes, I've seen that. It seems like Emerson's priorities aren't set on accentuating their strong points, but rather on making themselves a more all-around accessible campus. Maybe they're doing it to target a demographic that they don't already have, and are relying on their current facilities and prestige to continue to attract the types of people you've listed. Last, jesus. Quidditch. We have a team too. It's...interesting to watch. Also, we should definitely get together for a drink sometime.