WSU Could Save Troubled University
Eastern Washington University trustees did public policy an unintended favor Friday, blasting a proposal to make the remains of their troubled institution a part of Washington State University.
They marginalized themselves, taking an extreme position in a policy discussion that simply must occur, in spite of them. The protest was understandable, of course. The trustees and administrators from whom it came are feeling defensive, having been at the helm when the university sailed off course.
Now there is a crisis. Too many students have voted with their feet to enroll elsewhere. This forced deep cuts in Eastern’s faculty. Marketing programs administrators chose as a solution did not change the university’s weakened instructional programs; students attend for education, not brochures.
The people of Washington have invested large sums in the excellent buildings and talented faculty at EWU’s Spokane and Cheney campuses. Stronger service to the people must take precedence over the protests of a failed bureaucratic structure and its occupants.
The solution to so difficult a crisis must begin at the top, with Gov. Gary Locke and legislative leaders. Locke should convene a decision making process - soon. If he delays, how can EWU attract students, let alone a new president?
The solution that makes the most sense to us is one our editorial board first supported more than a decade ago: Make Eastern’s assets part of the thriving WSU system. Back then, WSU’s other branches did not exist. Today, WSU operates beautiful campuses in Vancouver and the Tri-Cities. Each is growing rapidly and is enormously popular with its host community. Inspired by WSU’s successes, the University of Washington launched branches in Tacoma and Bothell; these, too, are taking off.
But in Spokane, where the branch campus vision began, its fulfillment has been stymied by institutional turf wars. The Joint Center for Higher Education, created to mediate the bickering, has given competing institutions a forum to block many WSU proposals for expanded service here.
Think about the possibilities, if WSU takes over EWU’s assets:
Faculty at Cheney and Spokane could look forward to higher salaries, new advancement opportunities and prestigious research and instructional affiliations with resources throughout the WSU system.
Students would graduate with a more widely respected diploma and with instruction from a strengthened faculty. Tuition, a valid concern, could rise as value rose, but so would financial aid. Meanwhile, there is precedent in Washington for different tuition rates for different programs in the same school.
As it has done successfully at its other campuses, WSU could identify educational missions in response to local needs and then expand services to our part of the state, where such services long have been sought.
Spokane has puttered along with educational bickering and a service-industry economy long enough. It’s time to build for a stronger future, as other cities have done. To do so, we need some decisive intervention by Gov. Locke and the Legislature.
, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = John Webster For the editorial board