Southern at 150 - the devil is in the details

Professor Morteza Daneshdoost
president, Faculty Association

Let me declare up front that I share the sentiment that led to Vision 20-20 and Southern at 150. We should have ambitions. We should be the best that we can be. I would like to be positive so that people don't have to say, "Here he goes again, pointing to the problems instead of the solutions." But, if we actually do want to advance our position, I have no choice but to point out what the current situation is and what can be done about it. So here I go.

Recently, the SIUC administration contracted the prestigious Washington Advisory Group to "assist in [SIUC's] efforts to improve its research standing." WAG conducted an assessment of "the current state of research," offering observations and recommendations about SIUC's goals as stated in Southern at 150. The group analyzed SIUC's goal of becoming one of the nation's top 75 universities and indicated what was needed to achieve it.

Although the group commented that the vision was laudable and perhaps possible to realize, one of their key findings is quite significant: "It was not clear to us that SIUC fully appreciates the scale of recruitment and investment that will be needed to achieve the University's goal," adding that SIUC must hire about 200 research faculty members, which will cost "many hundreds of millions of dollars." Also, they reminded us, the top 75 universities will not be standing still. They will spend and hire, too. And then, in addition to hundreds of faculty hires, "SIUC will have to raise funds for endowments, graduate student and post-doc support and infrastructure improvements."

Given the scarcity of state funding, those resources will have to come from endowments raised by the SIU Foundation. But, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the SIU Foundation had less money June 30, 2002, than a year earlier (the statistical reports usually lag by one fiscal year). Although many universities suffered losses due to the weak stock market, SIU lost 7.2 percent, more than the 6 percent national average.

But far more critical is the ranking and the dollar amount: of the 654 college and university endowments listed, SIU Foundation ranks 466. The endowment has decreased by more than $4 million since 2000. Yet those who urge Southern at 150 upon us have given no realistic plan for raising the "many hundreds of millions of dollars" necessary. WAG's concern that the SIUC administration may not understand this necessity is further underscored by a comparison of SIU's endowment with its peers - both current and aspirational (as listed in Southern 150).

The disparities are staggering: SIU's endowment in 2002 was $43,071,000. Among current peers, the lowest ranked was Oklahoma State University's endowment of $153,179,000, ranked 217. SIU would need to triple its endowment even to approximate the smallest endowment of its current peers. As for the aspirational peers, the leap is still greater: Louisiana State University has the smallest endowment of that group, ranked at 118 with $348,291,000.

These findings are sobering. They compel me to ask the SIUC administration and the Board of Trustees: Who's been minding the fund raising and the investment of the endowment? And when does a vision become an illusion? What current needs (for teaching, as well as research; for fulfilling our university's traditional mission, as well taking on a new one) will be neglected as this plan is pursued?

We all know that it is easier to devise a plan than to implement it. How many ambitious plans have we had in the past 10 years that never materialized? And why not? Could it be that we did not work out the realistic details? Or, could it be that we did not get others involved in the process?

Because the funds necessary to carry out the goals of Southern at150 are not readily available, it is even more imperative to involve as much of the university community as possible in the process. So, may I suggest that the administration treat its colleagues, staff, friends and students with greater respect and do everything possible to earn their trust so that we can all share the dream. If you really believe in shared governance, please ask the faculty for their opinion first before you make up your mind. Please get faculty involved in advance if you are planning to close or merge their programs. Please ask the deans to stop telling faculty what courses to offer, what graduate students to hire and what to teach. If we want to turn the dream into reality, treat the faculty like the partners you need in order to succeed.

It is the Faculty Association≠s job and responsibility - sometimes to the point of annoyance - to analyze the plans and ring the wake-up call before the dream turns into a nightmare.

Copyright 2009 - Daily Egyptian