BEND SUMMARY TEXT

UO/CENTRAL OREGON
VISION

STRENGTH

SKILL

COOPERATION

A Vision for Central Oregon

We propose to create in Central Oregon an innovative higher education program that will equal, in quality and size, the best small colleges and universities in the nation.

We foresee a robust future for Central Oregon. We advance a solid administrative structure to support the rapid development of a unique educational opportunity. We underscore the special strengths unique to the University of Oregon, which include not only the excellence of Oregon’s flagship arts and sciences programs and highest ranking professional schools, and UO’s established record of successful collaboration with Central Oregon Community College (COCC), but also unmatched technological capacity to bring state of the art electronic network access to all Central Oregon students–kindergarten through graduate school–as well as to other citizens in the region.

Finally, we advance a vision that can set a pathbreaking example for the nation: The combination of the resources of a first-rank community college with an internationally recognized research university, together with other higher education partners, to produce a new, dynamic and student-centered model of undergraduate education.

We believe that our vision, plus the UO’s academic strength, plus a small-college approach, plus a skills-oriented curriculum, plus a cooperative spirit – equals success for Central Oregon.

"As Oregon’s knowledge-centered economy continues to evolve and grow, higher education is becoming critical to the economic security of Oregonians and the long-term health of our economy. . . . There is a significant clamor for employee capabilities nurtured by the liberal arts. In today’s workplace, employers value workers with historical perspective, critical thinking skills, and competence in mathematics, speaking, writing, listening, and collaborative effort."

Oregon Governor’s Task Force on Higher Education and the Economy

" . . . studies consistently indicate that there is continuing perceived need for ‘Arts and Sciences’ or ‘Liberal Arts’ education in Central Oregon."

Central Oregon Regional Advisory Board Plan for Higher Education.

Building a Strong Campus

In Central Oregon and around the world, business and community leaders are growing to understand and value the central offering of great universities, the ability to teach students the "liberal arts."

"Now more than ever,…a liberal arts education is the best possible preparation for the leaders of the future…[A]nyone who lacks a broad-based education–who is narrowly trained in specific technical skills of any kind–will become obsolete almost overnight. Any immediate advantage that such a graduate may have in fitting into a new job will shortly be wiped out–and then forever lost–against the adaptive skills of someone who has been taught how to learn, where to go for answers, how to judge the answers that are given, and how to understand and communicate ideas."

--Nannerl O. Keohane, President of Duke University

Leaders in Oregon’s growing technology and creative services industries underscore the point, saying often that the degrees of greatest value to them are those well grounded in the liberal arts and sciences.

We are prepared to provide this kind of education through face-to-face learning with the best from our academic and professional communities, offered in ways that concretely foster skills and abilities essential for professional success.

Both the Governor’s Task Force and the University of Oregon Mission Statement identify a number of critical skill areas that need to be addressed if needs of the State’s economy are to be well met. These include:

Communication skills – both written and oral;

Critical thinking skills – the ability to see through issues and evaluate the merits of competing ideas;

Problem solving skills – the ability to analyze complex problems and proceed to a resolution;

Teamwork – the ability to collaborate and work with others

Creativity – the ability to see matters differently and imagine new solutions;

International capabilities – knowledge of international content and culture to permit effective working relationships with international counterparts;

Ethical judgment – the ability to evaluate ideas and actions for their larger impact and meaning.

The UO proposal for Central Oregon is directed toward the development of these critical skills. Through the study of content in the sciences, history, literature, sociology, business, and other areas, students will learn to write and argue effectively, to work together to solve difficult problems, to nurture creativity and judgment, and to work effectively in the international community.

The acceleration of technological change in our society increases the importance of this approach to education. We have learned that in an age when technical skills acquired in college might be obsolete within a year or two, businesses are learning to look for graduates who are better able to adapt, solve problems, and think critically in an ever-changing economy. Providing these skills is the goal of the educational package we have developed for our UO/Central Oregon plan.

In addition to the liberal arts core, we will offer an array of professional and applied programs. The UO’s Independent Studies program, for instance, allows qualified students to develop their own interdisciplinary degree program in an area not represented by the existing departments or schools, often with an applied focus. In addition to this, we will offer our newly developed Professional Distinctions program, through which students complete a BA or BS augmented with a focused concentration in an area of professional expertise as they enter the employment market.

Another opportunity for work in applied fields will be through the proposed Central Oregon Field Studies Center. This center will provide a logistical and intellectual home for field-based research in archeology, cultural anthropology, geomorphology, geology and geophysics, linguistics, community service, and other areas. In addition to serving as a staging facility for a variety of field-based research currently underway in Central Oregon by UO faculty and students, the center also will foster collaboration involving COCC faculty and students, the community and various public and private agencies.

A Tradition of Success

"Best Buy" for academic quality and price (Barron’s and the Fiske Guide to Colleges three years running).

One of the nation’s "Best Colleges" (Princeton Review).

"Best Value for your Money", "Hidden Treasure", "Best Range of Extracurricular Activities" (Newsweek).

[GEORGER: REPLACE this bullet with the one from the brochure on "rising star" status ] Academic reputation ranked among the nation’s top 70 national universities (U.S. News & World Report).

"Top college in the nation for outdoor recreation" (Sports Afield).

#1 among public universities for international students and study abroad (national "Open Doors" study).

Home to national top-50 undergraduate programs in anthropology, art, art history, accounting, architecture, biochemistry, biology, business, chemistry, finance, geography, geology, journalism, landscape architecture, management, marketing, mathematics, political science, psychology, speech pathology/audiology, and urban planning (Gourman Report).

The UO’s reputation and programs draw many more international and out-of-state students than any other university in Oregon, and more, relative to its size, than almost any other university in the nation.

The UO is the state’s only member of the invitation-only Association of American Universities, the 59 "best of the best" in U.S. academia.

The UO recently completed the most successful fundraising campaign in Oregon history, exceeding its original goal by more than 70 percent. Successful fundraising will be important in building the best possible Central Oregon campus.

Along with two Nobelists and numerous Oregon governors, senators and state legislators, UO graduates include more Fortune 500 CEOs, admirals and generals, Oscar winners and Olympics contenders than any other Oregon university.

Building Critical Skills

In addition to essential degrees in the sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities, UO will both offer itself, and cooperate with other institutions to offer, a broad array of other programs. These programs will include innovative majors and/or minors in important areas such as business, education, computer information technology, hospitality management, engineering technology, and environmental sciences, as well as selected master’s degrees in areas such as education, business, information management, public administration and social work.

In addition to the core arts and sciences degrees, and professional degrees such as those listed above, we will also offer our longstanding Independent Study Program, designed for students who want to pursue extended scholarly studies in areas not represented in the established academic departments, and our newly developing Professional Distinctions Program, aimed at enhancing the bachelor’s degree through a focused concentration in an area of professional expertise. We will also continue our strong emphasis on internships and other participatory learning experiences for all students, just as we do on the Eugene campus.

Proposed educational programs from the UO:

Sciences

Bachelor of Science in General Science

(Optional focus: High Desert Environmental Science/Ecology)

Minors in:

Biology* / Chemistry /

Geological Sciences* / Mathematics*

Computer Information Technology*

Social Sciences

Bachelor of Arts or Science in General Social Science

Minors in:

Anthropology* / Business Administration

Geography* / History*

Psychology* / Sociology*

Humanities

Bachelor of Arts in Humanities

Minors or certificates in:

English* / Philosophy*

Religious Studies

European Studies

Education

Administrative Licensure

Minor in Family and Human Studies

Extended Studies

Central Oregon Field Studies Center

Central Oregon International Center

Central Oregon Learning in Retirement program

*May be available as majors in two or three years

Learning involves more than putting students in classrooms. The UO believes strongly in "inquiry-based" learning, in which students participate directly in research, community service, internships with local businesses, or other programs that extend and augment classroom experience. More than 60 percent of our Central Oregon students held internships last year.

A Spirit of Cooperation

Great education grows from and nourishes the local community.

The UO/Central Oregon plan also offers community benefits through the proposed Cultural Events program, which can bring to Central Oregon many of the recitals, plays, exhibits and concerts that make Eugene a vital center for the arts.

The UO strongly believes that a combination of circumstances in Central Oregon make the current plan of developing an upper division and graduate campus in cooperation with a community college exceptionally favorable. These circumstances include the unusual history of COCC, resulting in a substantial faculty well-qualified to teach at the upper division level in a research university program, the unusually strong lower division arts and sciences program at COCC, the excellent cooperative working relationships which have already been developed between UO and COCC faculty and administrators, the rapid growth in Central Oregon coupled with the lack of four-year and graduate education opportunities, and the support of Central Oregon leadership for the current plan.

At the same time, we recognize that COCC also has a traditional community college mission–that of providing technical education, continuing education, high school completion programs, and training opportunities for the Central Oregon community. It is important that UO/Central Oregon not detract from that critical part of COCC’s mission, but rather enhance it.

The University of Oregon is very familiar with COCC’s Mission Statement, its Vision Statement, and its statement of Goals, as adopted and prioritized earlier this year. We are fully supportive of those documents, and pledge to work closely with the COCC Board of Trustees to see that the presence of a UO Central Oregon campus enhances the full mission of COCC.

While recognizing the central importance of COCC, the University of Oregon also presents this proposal in partnership with a number of other institutions, which either currently bring, or have a desire to bring, programs to Central Oregon. In most cases these programs are either in areas or are delivered in ways that do not compete directly with the programs that the UO intends to bring to Central Oregon. It is our belief that the UO programs and these partner programs will mutually benefit from the growing variety of courses that will be made available in Central Oregon through the proposed new campus, since students in any of the programs will have access to all of the courses available through UO/Central Oregon. Hence students in Central Oregon will benefit. The University of Oregon will work with these partner programs on the same basis it works with UO programs. UO will provide administrative infrastructure for the partner programs in the same way that these are provided for UO programs.

Eastern Oregon University will have its own division as a part of the Central Oregon Campus, and will continue to offer all of its current programs through this division.
Portland State University will continue to offer its statewide master’s degrees in Social Work, Business Administration, and Public Administration, the MPA in Health Administration, and the Oregon Master of Public Health through the Central Oregon campus. PSU will also consider offering other graduate or post-graduate programs, with a focus on programs with impact on urban issues.

Southern Oregon University plans to offer courses which will allow students to obtain minors in Criminology and in Hotel and Restaurant Hospitality, when taken in conjunction with another bachelor’s degree offering.
Oregon Health Science University will expand its degree offerings in nursing..
Oregon Institute of Technology will offer a degree program in Information Technology, and will consider other allied health and engineering technology programs
Linfield College will continue to offer its bachelor’s degree in Accounting and in Management.

Success for Central Oregon

The University of Oregon believes that it is well positioned to successfully build the strongest higher education presence in Central Oregon for a wide variety of reasons. These include:

UO’s successful track record in developing the liberal arts core in its science, social science and humanities programs developed through the Central Oregon University Center, in cooperation with COCC;
UO’s innovative curricular ideas for the Central Oregon campus;
UO’s strong record of student recruitment within Oregon as well as nationally and internationally, and its specific ideas for recruitment to the Central Oregon campus;
UO’s outstanding international academic reputation, including its membership in such organizations as the Association of American Universities and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, which enhance the value of its degrees;
UO’s leadership in networking and instructional technology, and its ability to bring state-of-the-art connectivity to Central Oregon, both on the COCC campus and beyond;
UO’s leadership in networked library systems, including bringing the ORBIS network to COCC;
UO’s long history of involvement in Central Oregon, dating back to Thomas Condon and Luther Cressman, and including numerous field programs each year, the Community Service Workshops, the Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) program, educational administration and teacher training programs, and the Pine Mountain Observatory;
UO’s commitment to make these field study programs more accessible to Central Oregon residents through a Field Studies Center.
UO’s excellent relationships with COCC, the Central Oregon Regional Advisory Board (CORAB), and within the overall Central Oregon community;
UO’s partnerships with other institutions, including PSU, EOU, SOU, OIT, OHSU, and Linfield College, to bring the wide variety of programs needed by Central Oregon;

UO’s ability to bring the highest quality of cultural activities to Central Oregon, in areas such as music, theater, the arts, astronomy, and natural history, in conjunction with the Central Oregon campus;

UO’s ability to raise other funds, including grants and contracts, to support the Central Oregon campus;
UO’s record of stable, creative administration, cost-efficient delivery of world-class programs, and outstanding financial management;
UO’s history of effective collaboration in developing campuses, for example the development of Portland State University from Vanport College, and Oregon Health Sciences University from UO’s College of Medicine; and, perhaps most important of all,
UO’s strong commitment, indeed, excitement, on the parts of its faculty, administration, staff, and alumni to the development of a truly outstanding and innovative campus for higher education in Central Oregon.