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SOU to become OSU-South, or UO-South?

Rumor is that SOU, bleeding students and money and now starting a retrenchment process to layoff tenured faculty, will try to attach itself to UO. No money for teaching, but it looks like OUS board chair Matt Donegan is spending freely on consultants, and an attachment to OSU may be more likely. From the docket for the next OUS board meeting, here:

February 5, 2014

Meanwhile WOU recently announced it wants its own independent board.

15 Comments

  1. Ferris 01/31/2014

    If that happens, there goes our bonding rating…..shit….

    • Vlad 01/31/2014

      Just a quick note. it took a consulting firm to discover that adding rates of growth that compound does not yield the correct result? See PFM comments on the financial planning on the agenda.

  2. Max Powers 01/31/2014

    It is a really really really bad idea. SOU is not “bleeding” students. Enrollment is down but I wouldn’t characterize it as “bleeding.” Affiliation would destroy the campus and its personality. Retrenchment will finally lead to some rightsizing of the institution that seems to be long overdue.

  3. honest Uncle Bernie 01/31/2014

    A lose-lose for UO.

    If UO “gets” SOU, an albatross around our necks.

    If OSU gets SOU, our friends to the north consolidate their growing position as Oregon’s main public university and yes, “flagship” institution, especially if UO gets the boot from AAU.

    • Vlad 01/31/2014

      not sure if complete absence of UO in OUS options is a gift or a threat. it certainly signals their utter disregard for us. maybe that is a gift?

    • OVA 01/31/2014

      Bernie, again interesting thought. What would it look like if OSU “got” all the rest of the dead weight like EOU, SOU and WOU? Perhaps OSU could be enticed to take them on if it included all the state funding at higher levels and OIT which could be used as an instant Portland Engineering School to cut the UO out of Portland. I wonder how long it would take before OSU replaces OUS… you know it is only a single character transposition, the only one left out would be the UO, and the chronically under performing PSCC.

      • honest Uncle Bernie 02/03/2014

        So you see OUS going all the way with OUS!

        Could be good for UO but ONLY IF the big donors — the gigadonors — come through and make it good. Otherwise a disaster if UO gets an ever-decreasing share of the meager OUS pie.

        I can see how acquiring SOU conceivably could benefit UO — but only if UO were granted complete discretion on how SOU is run — e.g. as UO Lite (small, admissions standards comparable to UO, close to California, partner with the Shakespeare Festival).

        Otherwise, just an albatross.

  4. Fishwrapper 01/31/2014

    As time goes one, maybe more campuses could align/attach with others, and work as a system in a coordinated fashion to provide higher education to Oregonians…

  5. Anas Clypeata 02/03/2014

    This is an excellent idea. It worked in Bend, why not in Ashland?

    Oh wait….

    • uomatters Post author | 02/03/2014

      UO-Bend and UO-Ashland are totally different. I don’t know of any senior UO administrators with vacation homes in Ashland.

  6. anonymous 02/03/2014

    I guess the cultural scene is so much better in Bend.

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