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Posts tagged: Parma Research and Extension Center
New University of Idaho President Duane Nellis - who is in his first week on the job, and is touring the state - said at a gathering at the Parma Research and Extension Center yesterday that perhaps industry can partner with the state to keep the center open in the face of budget cuts. “As the governor mentioned earlier, maybe there are ways to partner with industry,” Nellis told a crowd of concerned farmers, legislators, university and ag officials at the center. “We need to look at being more entrepreneurial and making those connections in different ways. This announcement has truly brought out industry and they seem to have a vested interest in what is happening here.” Here’s an audio clip of Nellis’ comments.
The U of I’s research and extension centers operate on 4,000 acres statewide, including locations in Aberdeen, Caldwell, Dubois, Salmon, Hagerman, Kimberly, Moscow, Parma, Sandpoint, Tetonia, and Twin Falls.
Gov. Butch Otter says a state rule requires State Board of Education approval for funding cuts at universities above $250,000. The fact that that didn’t happen is part of the reason he and new UI President Duane Nellis have decided to indefinitely delay the decision on whether to close the Parma Research and Extension Center. The UI is considering closing two or more centers due to the Legislature’s approval of budget cuts of $3.2 million in state funding for the Ag Research and Extension Service for the the 2010 budget year, which started July 1. The governor’s office said, “The recommendation to close the facility was made by a statewide committee whose 19 members represent diverse backgrounds and interests. The new review phase will build upon the foundational analysis provided by the earlier committee.”
Here are links to two audio clips of Otter talking about the issue in Parma yesterday: In the first clip, the governor describes the $250,000 rule. In the second, Otter compares the delay to his decision to give his transportation funding task force until the 2011 legislative session to propose solutions. We purposefully allowed them an extra year so they could look at it and do the right thing. That is exactly what the president and I are talking about,” Otter says, as Nellis can be heard agreeing in the background.
Gov. Butch Otter told a crowd of at least 75 people, including lawmakers, university and ag officials, farmers and more, at the Parma Research and Extension Center today that any decision to close the center needs to go through both the president of the University of Idaho and the State Board of Education. “The governor was concerned,” said Otter’s spokesman, Jon Hanian. “They were put in kind of a difficult position, because you had a president that was leaving … and a president that was coming in. The concern was that the chain of command and the chain of responsibility on a decision like this really needed to go through the president, and once the president signed off on it, it needed to go to the board, and that didn’t happen in this case.”
Otter and new UI President Duane Nellis announced that the closure plan would be put on hold indefinitely for review. “He made no promises out there as to ultimately what will happen,” Hanian said, “but he did say, ‘Let’s take a step back and look at this and allow it to go through the process.’ ” Hanian added, “In fairness to the president, he’s only been on the job for what, eight days? The governor pointed out he’s drinking from a fire hose right now, and they’re on a tour around the state. He wants to give him some time, a couple of months to get his sea legs, and then take a look at this, and then it will go to the board, and once the board reviews it, it’ll go to the governor.”
Otter’s been at the Allen & Co. media business confab at Sun Valley this week, and he’s back there now, having flown out to Parma just for a few hours. He spoke at a luncheon at the Parma facility, where a large crowd - two buses full - had gathered for a tour.
Gov. Butch Otter and University of Idaho President M. Duane Nellis have jointly announced an indefinite delay in the proposed closure of the Parma Research and Extension Center, a closure that drew an outcry of protest from fruit growers and others in the area. “Given the current budget situation, and my newness to the university, the governor and I agreed on the need to take additional time to conduct a more thorough review of the Research and Extension centers statewide,” Nellis said, during a joint announcement with Otter at the center in Parma. Click below to read the full announcement from the university.
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