[Vision2020] Media Watch

[Jerry Weitz]

The GMA Meeting with President White showed a president who is willing to 
roll up his sleeves and help out in enrollment, research, recruitment and 
retention.  President White realizes that  UI is in competition for 
students and facility.  There was a question given to him about Bend, 
Oregon and its prosperity.  The question referenced a Recent Economist 
Article "Prosperity comes to the Mountains."  --Booming Bend--  A town of 
67,000 with a small-town feel , a mix of leisure activities (skiing, golf, 
tennis, mountain biking,fishing, snow-machines). Bend is also economically 
vibrant. It typifies the changes seen in many western towns that once were 
sleepy backwaters based on mining and timber--- As towns such as Missoula, 
Bozeman, Walla Walla, etc.  In 1980, Bend had a population of 20,000. In 
some areas all this (population increase) translates into a city full of 
ageing but well-off geezers.  Not in Bend.   At the St Charles Medical 
Center, CEO Jim Diegel frets that his maternity unit, now being expanded, 
will be at capacity the minute it's finished.  Bend's School district is 
bulging too, with enrollment jumping 58% in the past decade.  That bodes 
well for the city : a large population of relatively young adults means 
thousands of children who will eventually want to create their own jobs and 
wealth in Bend.

In Moscow, the lessons of Bend ought to be taken seriously.  In order to 
attract companies for a Knowledge Corridor Business Ed Triangle, Moscow 
will have to be attractive to the "Geeks".  Presently with Moscow stifling 
growth, business development, ice rinks, highways, issuing eviction notices 
to Alt. kids, etc., UI's competitive edge becomes harder to attain. 
Incidentally, Bend has no cap on "big boxes"  nor on Walmart's existence 
for that matter. The Challenge:  Many believe that BSU is the new flagship 
for Idaho.  President White acknowledged that for students who need outside 
employment, that Boise has the advantage. BSU wants to become an urban 
research institution with distinction. Further, retention is a problem and 
with a two year decline of 1,086 UI is in trouble.  Incidentally, WSU 
enrollment state wide is up, but not in Pullman.  We know that going urban 
is the trend. So if we block development in Whitman County, then 
cooperation with Whitman County/WSU becomes problematic. As Dr. Schweitzer 
has said we live in a sea of land, development should be a priority.   Why 
not have the best of both worlds, two strong rural universities, and a 
great environment to live in such as Bend and retain our youth?  Jerry



At 06:59 PM 1/30/07, Mark Solomon wrote:
>Hi Don,
>
>What was interesting to me in the story (and the similar one in
>today's Daily News) was that enrollment was down at both UI and WSU.
>Makes me think that maybe something other than city council policies
>are at play despite the steady drumbeat of doom from the GMA.
>
>Mark
>
>At 5:44 PM -0800 1/30/07, Don Coombs wrote:
> >A good lead on page 1 in this morning's Lewiston Trib:
> >
> >"The two land-grant universities on the Palouse have continued to
> >bleed students, according to head counts on the 10th day of spring
> >semester classes."
> >
> >The second graph said UI was down 595 students statewide from a year
> >ago, WSU down 406 on its Pullman campus.
> >
> >Then the newspaper zinged the UI gently in the third graph:
> >"Officials at UI chose to focus on new student numbers (which were
> >up), with no mention of decreasing enrollment in a news release."
> >
> >I think it would be a better use of public money if the UI issued
> >useful news releases, rather than trying to spin the news. The
> >double-digit percentage increase in new students is news, but
> >nowhere near as important as the total enrollment number. The news
> >story (and probably the news release) doesn't tell us how many new
> >students there are this semester or how many there were a year ago,
> >so a double-digit percentage increase may not be many students at
> >all.
> >
> >Later in the story we find that WSU's enrollment is 21,694 at its
> >four campuses, down 1 percent from a year ago. Nowhere in the story
> >do we find the total enrollment or the percent of change for the UI.
> >
> >Apparently the Trib came up with more information than what was in
> >the UI press release ("UI lost 595 students") but not the numbers
> >which would have made that information meaningful.
> >
> >Don Coombs
>
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