Faculty Forum Papers
AFTER 1984 -- A LOOK TO THE FUTURE
By
D.S. Pete Fullerton, Faculty Senate President
January 1984
AFTER 1984 -- A LOOK TO THE FUTURE
Besides being of special literary significance, 1984 is a very important
transition year for Oregon State University. It is the year we will select
a new President, plan for the 1985 Legislative session, and hopefully it
will be the last year faculty will do without merit and cost of living raises.
The Faculty Senate Executive Committee, ASOSU, and MUPC have all encouraged
the campus community to begin a dialogue about OSU's future. Invitations
were sent to all faculty last week to write Faculty Forum papers on this
important subject.
We all hope that the Oregon State University of the late 1980's will
keep the best of today's OSU -- especially our excellence in teaching
and research, and our genuinely friendly community of students,
faculty, and staff. But we can be better.
Three changes top my own 'wish list' for OSU's future:
1. Competitive Faculty Salaries. In good economic
times and bad, the Oregon Legislature has generally been miserly
with faculty salaries. The 1983 Legislature was no exception: no
faculty raises for two years. The new OSU President, above all else,
needs to be an outspoken champion for fair and competitive salaries,
and equally important, affordable in-State and out-of-State tuition.
2. A 1980's Image. OSU is the leading research center
in Oregon. We've developed beyond a traditional "Land Grant" image.
The OSU Foundation has taken a "pioneering" role in helping shape a
1980's image:
"And at OSU, the pioneer is more than a symbol…OSU is proud of its
present day pioneers:
Oceanographers discovering new evidence for the origins of life
on the Pacific sea floor;
anthropologists using computer-generated maps to learn more about
climate and human development;
engineers creating crystals that are revolutionizing electronics
and our sense of how the world is
put together;
geneticists breeding improved strains of plants and animals to feed
a hungry planet…
You can help us blaze new trails. Share our vision of tomorrow…"
(from "PIONEERING An Oregon State Tradition" OSU Fund, 1983, used with permission)
3. Additional Graduate Programs In the College of Liberal Arts. OSU
is unique among research universities its size in not having a variety of
graduate programs in the arts, humanities and social sciences. The MAIS
degree is just not enough. The CLA faculty has in the past unsuccessfully
tried to convince the State Board that additional graduate programs are
vital. Future CLA efforts to develop selected graduate program proposals
deserve campus support.
Other hopes for OSU's future:
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A Smaller, Stronger Post-Secondary Educational System in
Oregon. With a declining population of college-age students,
the people of Oregon just can not afford all 48 post-secondary
institutions (community colleges, private and public colleges and
universities) they now support.
-
Reaching The OSU Foundation's Four Funding Goals -- Then Four More!
The Foundation has committed its considerable efforts and talent to the
development of four key programs at OSU: The Center for Gene Research
and Biotechnology, A Center For the Humanities, the Marine Science
Program, and Materials Science Research.
-
Adequate Library Support!
-
New Buildings and Improvements. I have much to learn about
OSU construction needs. Two that seem especially important are
remodeling and equipping the Computer Science building (the old
Farm Crops building); and building one of the two new buildings
proposed for CLA (one planned for Coleman Field, and another for
the south portion of the site of the present Strand Agricultural Hall).
Many other building and improvement needs certainly exist --
additional Engineering research facilities, as just one example.
-
Improved Financial Support for the OSU Theater.
-
More Instructional Computer Resources. The campus is
very short of micro computers and computer terminals -- a
crucial area for improvement if OSU is to remain a modern
center of higher education.
-
Additional Faculty. Faculty shortages exist in
several areas across the campus. Computer Science,
Engineering and Pharmacy are but three examples.
-
New Equipment. Examples include modern X-ray
crystallographic and protein microsequencing facilities,
and instructional equipment in many laboratory courses.
OSU has many other campus needs, including State support
for Summer Term. Other faculty and students will point out
other important areas.
1984 is a pivotal year for OSU for identifying and discussing
new directions for our future. I invite you to join in the
discussion. It is also especially important that we select a
new OSU President who can successfully lead the campus in its
1980's "pioneering" efforts.
D.S. Pete Fullerton
Faculty Senate President
Opinions expressed by authors of Faculty Forum
articles are not necessarily those of the OSU Faculty or Faculty Senate.
