by jim francesconi as we pass the governance torch from the state board of higher education to independent boards at the university of oregon, portland state university and oregon state university, we will be navigating a future of heightened risks and rewards. the rewards lie in the private sector reinforcements that are coming to the aid of our three major research universities. the caliber of some board nominees are similar to those found at stanford, yale, harvard and other prestigious private universities. major oregon ceos and entrepreneurs have volunteered to use their power, influence and resources to benefit oregon's public universities. oregon is a small state with limited public resources, great needs and high aspirations. although our universities have a few of the nation's best programs, we are not living up to our potential. that is what happens when state funding for becomes mired near the bottom of all states for more than 20 years. now there is the promise to leverage private resources for this vital public purpose. but there are risks as well. we need high-quality engineering and other research programs, but we cannot afford them at every campus. portland needs to be served, with psu in charge, but so does every part of our state. our small schools should be strengthened, not sacrificed. sports are important, but not the highest priority. as vital as universities are, they are means to public ends, not ends in and of themselves. oregon needs a vibrant, innovative economy. our universities can create more research collaboratives such as onami (oregon nanoscience and microtechnologies institute) and the portland life sciences center, which attract world-class talent and create jobs. next up ... the light metals institute sponsored by oregon and washington universities and the manufacturing 21 business coalition. oregon's per capita income is almost 10 percent below the national average. universities can prepare more oregonians for well-paid jobs in health care, stem fields (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), advanced manufacturing and professional-technical careers. and we should take advantage of the growing demographic and political strength of the latino community by working together to provide access to college and to family-wage jobs. above all, oregon must demonstrate that working people and poor folks can still make it in america. education after high school is the way, but it is out of reach for many children, especially in rural oregon. nearly half of oregon's children are poor. half of oregon university students are on pell grants. the average student debt is more than $25,000. as a result, fewer oregonians are going to college. like many, my grandparents and parents sacrificed so that i could be the first in my family to go to college. for the first time in oregon's history, my generation is better educated than the generation that is now college age. new university board members can raise scholarship funds so that more oregonians can graduate from uo, psu and osu. but these board members should also help increase philanthropy at southern, western, eastern and the oregon institute of technology. all oregonians from every part of the state should have a chance to achieve their potential and contribute to our state. finally, we must understand that philanthropy alone cannot produce excellent universities with innovative research, quality instruction and access for all oregonians. the legislature has consistently balanced the budget on the backs of students, forcing tuition increases. new board members have the power to reverse this practice and to force major public investments in our universities for the good of oregon. let us work together to apply that power to building an affordable and accessible world-class university system. jim francesconi is a member of the state board of higher education and lives in northeast portland.
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