[Vision2020] All hail the new flagship

[Nicholas Gier]

All hail the new flagship

Chris Carlson, Idaho State Journal, Feb. 23, 2012

A native of Kellogg, journalist Chris Carlson pens his column from his
retirement home near Medimont in Northern Idaho. He is a former teacher and
was press secretary to Gov. Cecil

   Idaho media recently carried reports that the State Board of Education
had unanimously voted to strip the word “flagship” from the University of
Idaho’s mission statement. University of Idaho President Duane Nellis appeared
stunned by the move. He should not have been—even this scribe pointed out a
year ago in several columns that shanghaiing the title of flagship away
from the land grant university was part of Boise State University President
Bob Kustra’s five-year game plan to have the Boise State campus be
perceived by the public and politicians as the real flagship in Idaho’s
university system.

   The apparent ease with which President Kustra pulled off the move not
only is a testament to his political and PR skills, it also says much about
President Nellis’ passive nature. Vandal partisans should ask pointedly why
their president, despite all the obvious signs, failed to see this coming
and did nothing to block it.

   One has to ask pointedly also where were the two Idaho board members
with the most obvious connections to the University of Idaho, Bill Goesling
and Emma Atchley, and why did they go along? Surely they could not help
recognizing from a PR standpoint alone how insulting to the University of
Idaho this slap in the face would be.

   Looking over the horizon and anticipating what is coming is clearly art
and not science. Some see various pieces of information, connect the dots
more quickly, and draw pretty good conclusions about what’s coming around
the bend. Then there are those who one can present with all sorts of data
showing the loaded dump truck around the corner and still refuse to believe
it until it is seconds from running them over. The latter is the case with
Duane Nellis and the University of Idaho.

   Set aside for a moment the stupidity of such a move by the board which
offered up the weak rationalization that the University of Idaho should not
be so singled out when course offerings and instruction are equally good
(?????)

   at BSU and Idaho State University.

   Set aside too the tier system American universities are rated by—a
standard which is largely a reflection of the amount of research done at a
university, the dollars attracted from both public and private resources
for research, and the number of Ph.D.s awarded by the school. By all these
measures and by accreditation associations across the country the
University of Idaho clearly predominates.

   Yes, the Vandals and Bengals field lousy football teams compared to
Boise State but that should not matter to the academicians of the world,
and in fact it doesn’t. But to a politically appointed board of education,
such as Idaho has, it clearly does matter.

   One cannot help noticing that despite a long tradition under previous
governors for selecting members of both parties for board spots so as to
foster the clear impression that the board was expected to be bipartisan
and nonpartisan, with Gov. Otter that tradition has gone by the wayside.
All the members now appear to be Republicans.

   That, however, easily leads to the question whether the governor and/ or
his staff were aware in advance that Kustra, with the able assistance of
his government affairs aide, former House Speaker Bruce Newcomb , were
going to make the move.

   Someone in the daily media ought to be asking what did the governor know
and when did he know it?

   What should be clear to all is that perception is reality. Removing the
word “flagship” from a university’s mission statement can be seen in no
other context than a demotion no matter how much lipstick President Nellis
tries to put on this pig. It ain’t pretty and what the U of I lost will be
seen by all others as a clear gain for BSU. Just watch now as BSU’s share
of the state funding pie continues to grow.

   Frankly, I loved the skillful way Bob Kustra pulled off the board vote
and stuck the stiletto into Nellis (metaphorically) while smiling and
looking him in the eye. Just before the surprise vote by the board Kustra
granted the Statesman’s political editor, Dan Popkey, a lengthy interview
in which his acute political skills shone and his ability to act ethically
in the rough and tumble political world, especially that in Illinois, also
was apparent.

   Remember, in politics there are no coincidences!

   Some folks may ask why now? The answer is easy: Kustra is declaring
victory. It’s over and done. BSU as far as public and political perceptions
are concerned is now the state of Idaho’s “flagship” university.

   UI had ample notice and still could not avoid being run over by the
loaded dump truck. It doesn’t take a fortune teller looking into a clouded
crystal ball to predict they may never get the title and the public
perception back.

   My congratulations to President Kustra and his team. My sympathy,
somewhat shallow, to President Nellis and his. All hail the new flagship!
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