Restore UI’s mission

An open letter to the University of Idaho’s Board of Regents/Idaho State Board of Education:

I urge you to reinstate the word “flagship” in the University of Idaho’s mission statement. Deleting this word “to put Idaho’s public universities on a more equal footing” is a step in the wrong direction, lowering the bar for all of our public universities, not raising it.

Your recent action indicates you expect less from the University of Idaho, and you believe Idaho’s other institutions cannot achieve the standards of quality, stewardship and service set by Idaho’s premier university.

Instead of diminishing the University of Idaho’s mission, you could inspire Idaho’s other institutions to increase recruitment of National Merit scholars, improve graduation rates, double research efforts, expand endowment funds, and match the University of Idaho’s contribution to the state’s economy.

Each university’s mission statement should celebrate what is unique and true about that institution while communicating its aspirations for service to Idaho.

In this case, equal is not fair.

Therese Gaffney

Moscow, Idaho