2008 Woodie Awards
Editorial: University more than an image
Issue date: 4/3/08 Section: Editorial/Opinion
04/03/08 - The university is pushing ahead with its quest to shed its image as party school through a $350,000 "branding initiative." Administrators and an outside consulting firm have presented slick new logos and an energetic television commercial. Now the real work begins.
University officials must remember that a school is more than its image. It must actually be able to back up the image it presents. If the school presents a place where students can "think big" it must keep faculty to student ratios small and faculty pay high.
Yet, according to a recent report by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the university is doing just the opposite. Administrators are accepting larger and larger freshman classes and not adding enough new professors to keep pace.
The Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education is also dangling $20,000 in front of professors to retire by the end of the year. Even President Robert L. Carothers acknowledged to the Cigar last month that if too many professors accept the offer it could leave URI without the institutional knowledge it needs.
And the issues don't end there. During the last few months Housing and Residential Life announced tentative plans to place more freshmen and upperclassmen in triple rooms. We're sure that will go over well with students who saw the new television commercial featuring modern buildings and smiling students.
We do credit the plan with reducing the font size of "Rhode Island" in the logo. The state has done nothing for the university but cause grief over budget cuts. And a few years ago the General Assembly even had the gall to wish Providence College - URI's archrival - good luck during the NCAA Tournament while ignoring URI - the state's public college - altogether.
The initiative also appears to be a thinly-veiled step toward privatizing the institution. For this though the university cannot be criticized. The state treats the university like the son it never wanted: reducing financial support, seeking to wrestle control away from its governing body and micromanaging its affairs.
But like a child leaving home for college, URI must remember with independence comes responsibility. It seems certain that the school will no longer have the state as a safety net if its initiatives fail or enrollment dips off. For this reason alone, it's now more important than ever that the university puts its money where its mouth is.
University officials must remember that a school is more than its image. It must actually be able to back up the image it presents. If the school presents a place where students can "think big" it must keep faculty to student ratios small and faculty pay high.
Yet, according to a recent report by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the university is doing just the opposite. Administrators are accepting larger and larger freshman classes and not adding enough new professors to keep pace.
The Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education is also dangling $20,000 in front of professors to retire by the end of the year. Even President Robert L. Carothers acknowledged to the Cigar last month that if too many professors accept the offer it could leave URI without the institutional knowledge it needs.
And the issues don't end there. During the last few months Housing and Residential Life announced tentative plans to place more freshmen and upperclassmen in triple rooms. We're sure that will go over well with students who saw the new television commercial featuring modern buildings and smiling students.
We do credit the plan with reducing the font size of "Rhode Island" in the logo. The state has done nothing for the university but cause grief over budget cuts. And a few years ago the General Assembly even had the gall to wish Providence College - URI's archrival - good luck during the NCAA Tournament while ignoring URI - the state's public college - altogether.
The initiative also appears to be a thinly-veiled step toward privatizing the institution. For this though the university cannot be criticized. The state treats the university like the son it never wanted: reducing financial support, seeking to wrestle control away from its governing body and micromanaging its affairs.
But like a child leaving home for college, URI must remember with independence comes responsibility. It seems certain that the school will no longer have the state as a safety net if its initiatives fail or enrollment dips off. For this reason alone, it's now more important than ever that the university puts its money where its mouth is.