Change is in the Air as Students Return to Campuses
Op-ed from University System of New Hampshire Chairman of the Board, Andrew Lietz
September 2006
In late August, we witnessed the annual pilgrimage to college campuses in New Hampshire. We have one of the highest percentages of students coming from out of state to study here – approximately 40% of the students attending a University System of NH institution (the University of New Hampshire, Plymouth State University, Keene State College, and Granite State College) are from out of state and bring a diversity of backgrounds, culture, and experience to our campuses. With the arrival of new and returning students each year, we witness changes across the state’s public university system that are physical, educational, and even economic. As Chairman of the USNH Board of Trustees, I want to reflect on some of these changes and how they in turn impact our students and our state.
Our institutions and their host communities become the home for nearly 30,000 students each year. Move-in day provides an opportunity for our residential campuses to demonstrate community and service, as well as tradition. Whether it’s alumni in Keene, athletic teams in Plymouth, or staff and members of the community in Durham, there’s no shortage of hands to help freshmen settle in.
To enhance the community aspect of a residential campus and reduce the housing burden on our host communities, the Board set a goal of housing 60 percent of our students on campus. We moved closer to this figure this fall when two new facilities, Langdon Woods at PSU and Butler Court at KSC, opened.
From an academic standpoint, students at UNH are benefiting from the recent Phase I completion of the Kingsbury Hall renovation and expansion project, including new teaching labs, classrooms, and offices. In Plymouth a substantial upgrade to the Lamson Learning Commons provides PSU students, faculty, and staff with innovative academic, technological, and research resources. In Keene, the former dining commons has been transformed in a 21 st century Media Arts Center that features cutting edge technology and brings together film studies, graphic design, and communications/journalism under one roof. And in North Conway, Granite State College became the anchor tenant in the first building in the new Technology Village. GSC will share space with other colleges and established and new businesses, giving them an enhanced presence in the region and an opportunity to interact with new partners and through new educational technologies.
Move-in day also brings to our campuses a group of students who will be playing essential roles in our society and economy in the coming decades. The education of these students, in addition to the many non-traditional students that fill our classrooms and take part in our growing distance education programs, is critical in terms of filling the jobs that drive our state’s and nation’s 21 st century economy.
Almost all of the growth industries of the future will require some level of college and as the state’s university system, we have a responsibility to work with our employers to meet these needs. One new way we are working to connect with employers is through our business liaisons. Each institution now has an individual that serves as single point of entry for organizations that may want to develop a relationship, create an internship, or look to hire graduates.
It is also part of our role to foster innovation. At UNH, our top tier research university, t otal external awards last year increased 18 percent from the previous year’s record. Intellectual property income was up by 25 percent, and partnerships with New Hampshire companies also increased substantially.
While we hear about an expanded emphasis on technology and distance learning – which is very important – traditional education remains a cornerstone at our institutions. To create the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, and creative thinkers, we must encourage the open inquiry of ideas and respect the freedoms, rights and responsibilities of all members of our learning community. We encourage civil and respectful discourse in our classrooms, our courtyards, our dining halls and our residence halls.
The issue of academic freedom has been in the headlines since move-in day due to a controversial belief held by a UNH faculty member. While our Board strongly disagrees with the personal opinions of this faculty member, we agreed with the UNH assessment that there was no wrongdoing. However, we also believe that there needs to be a greater dialogue across the University System regarding academic freedom and our need for high standards of rigor and integrity in the classroom. The presidents at our institutions will be working to encourage this dialogue over the course of the academic year.
Higher education has always been an environment where new ideas are aired and controversial issues are debated. We will act strongly in cases where we determine that the lion between “freedom” and “integrity” has been crossed. At the same time, encouraging a responsible level of free thought is one path toward innovation, and one of our new students who moved into a dormitory in Durham, Keene, or Plymouth a few weeks back might develop that new innovation, idea or concept from which we may all benefit.
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