University of Idaho President Chuck Staben wants people to know why he values what he does and why his goals are important for UI as a whole. Monday afternoon, he used his State of the University Address to explain why.
Students, faculty and staff filled the seats in the International Ballroom of the Bruce Pitman Center to listen to Staben discuss what UI was doing well, but also what needs to be worked on.
Irish Martos | Argonaut
Monday in the Bruce Pitman Center”s International Ballroom President Chuck Staben delivers his State of University Address
“What we”re doing is helping students realize the American dream,” Staben said.
The impact university students have on the institution was a primary point Staben said UI should focus on.
He said UI has a six-year graduation rate of 58 percent, which is good, but below the national average.
Staben also referenced the recent College Scorecard report, which gave statistics that proved UI is a good investment for prospective students. Because of this, he said everyone should make more of an effort to bring more students to the university. One of Staben”s main goals is to increase student enrollment 50 percent by 2025.
Staben said reaching this goal would help UI in multiple ways, including the university budget, of which 24 percent is made up of student tuition and fees. Increasing enrollment would increase the percentage tuition and fees contribute to the budget, without placing a significant financial burden on students.
Staben estimates that every year about 5,000 high school seniors graduate in Idaho who are qualified to attend UI, but choose not to go on to higher education at all. He said he believes this is because the state does not have a sufficient college-going culture, and wants UI to set an example of an accepting institution for higher education.
“We”ll be a great university by whom we include,” Staben said.
Staben also pinpointed research development as another one of his goals. While UI leads Idaho in research, he said he is discouraged by the university”s reputation as a “scrappy underdog” when being showcased on a national scale.
The university can excel further in research by being innovative, gaining grants for impactful projects and promoting collaboration and industry partnerships, he said.
Staben”s final goal for his term as university president is to build the team and future of UI. He said the most efficient way of achieving this goal is to put a clearer focus on the university”s purpose rather than letting distractions like low pay and morale slow down progress.
He referenced Wikipedia as a successful organization because its people are united in a common purpose of spreading knowledge to the world.
“Everybody uses Wikipedia,” Staben said. “Isn”t that right? Yeah, even though the faculty maybe tell you you shouldn”t, I wouldn”t tell you that. I think it”s great.”
If the UI community can unite together under a common purpose, Staben said his goals are within reach and the university will improve on its good example of a high-quality higher education institution in Idaho.
Erin Bamer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ErinBamer