Former University President Dave Frohnmayer’s proposal to restructure the Oregon University System has sparked state-wide discussion on the issue and has shined a spotlight on what he says is a dire funding problem.
by OUS Chancellor George Pernsteiner and released Wednesday, Frohnmayer’s report suggests making Oregon’s three large research universities, including the University, independent public corporations, each with its own board of governance.
“Really the purpose of the report was to look at the way we fund higher education in Oregon,” said OUS Director of Communications Di Saunders. “There’s some common opinion around that we don’t have a stable funding system. It’s boom and bust — mostly bust.”
But Saunders said the purpose of the report was also to spur discussion on the system. In his report, Frohnmayer urged the issue to be addressed at the special state legislative session in February. The short timeline sent groups and stakeholders scrambling to get a grip on the report.
“The recommendation that action be taken as early as February 2010 is disconcerting and deserves public discussion and scrutiny,” an Oregon Student Association press release stated. “At a time when Oregonians are preparing to vote on referenda that will have a historical impact on our state’s budget it seems prudent to make all other decisions cautiously and thoughtfully and at the appropriate times.”
ASUO President Emma Kallaway is also quoted in the press release, saying, “As the students who have watched tuition in OUS institutions almost double in just the last decade, we know we are in crisis. Students have lost the ability to take the courses we need to graduate in a timely manner, we have lost great faculty and higher education is increasingly out of reach for everyday Oregonians.”
Kallaway said in a phone interview that the ASUO executive won’t take a stance until more information is available, “but we absolutely know schools are underfunded.”
“Any time we’re looking at major overhaul, we want students, faculty, classified staff, parents and as many people at the table as possible,” she said.
OSA Director Emily McLain said the group hasn’t taken a stance on the proposal yet either, but she is glad that higher education funding is getting attention.
“It’s great to see that people are discussing the problem,” McLain said. “There is no convincing needed for students to see that there is a problem. There are definitive problems in terms of underfunding and increasing tuition and decreasing aid.”
McLain said she doesn’t expect the report to be addressed by the time of the February session, and Saunders called it, “the beginning of a conversation.” Saunders said the chancellor is realistically expecting action in 18 to 24 months.
Nevertheless, Saunders said, “we can’t sit around and wait for the Great Pumpkin to drop funding on us.”
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