Collaboration key to higher ed

By THEODORE V. BOYD

SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR

As chairman of the Northeast Ohio Universities Collaboration and Innovation Study Commission, I congratulate Gov. Ted Strickland and Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut for their most recent commitment to aggressive higher education goals for the state’s public higher education institutions with their announcement of the creation of The University System of Ohio.

Even before that announcement the study commission has been actively engaging the region’s higher education and business communities to create greater access and affordability for students, to increase dramatically the number of degrees earned, and to improve significantly the overall quality of higher education in Northeast Ohio. That work, in progress since the study commission’s establishment by the Ohio legislature at the end of last year under the leadership of Senate President Bill Harris and House Speaker Jon Husted, dovetails perfectly with the Governor’s University System collaboration and coordination goals. Specifically, our study commission is examining:

UStrategic and purposeful collaborations among the University of Akron, Cleveland State University, Kent State University, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, and Youngstown State University, while maintaining the separate traditions and identities of these institutions.

UDevelopment of a coordinated approach to the academic strategy of public higher education institutions in Northeast Ohio.

UPartnering among these institutions in both undergraduate and graduate academic programs.

USharing among these institutions’ basic administrative mechanisms and functions.

This unprecedented undertaking responds to the stark reality that Ohio, long an economic pacesetter among the states, has become increasingly non-competitive in the national and world economies, which are now best described as knowledge economies. Our mission is to create a knowledge culture in Northeast Ohio that helps put Ohio back on top, and our universities are providing the commitment and leadership to get us there. We are confident the progress we are making will help catalyze the success of the governor’s university system in its state-wide mission of change.

Enrollment

The study commission is to submit our plan and recommendations to the governor and the General Assembly by the end of 2007. We are on target to do so, and we are excited by the opportunities for real improvement we are identifying. And while we all acknowledge the challenges higher education faces in Ohio, we accept the opportunity to help meet Gov. Strickland’s call to substantially increase enrollment in Ohio public higher education institutions in the next decade.

I applaud Ohio’s executive and legislative leadership for their ongoing commitment to creating centers of academic and research excellence and making higher education more affordable and accessible for students and adult learners throughout the state. The study commission is confident our work will assist the Chancellor by setting the course for the master plan for The University System of Ohio.

X Theodore V. Boyd is chairman of the North East Ohio Universities Collaboration Innovation Study Commission, which includes Youngstown State University. Additional information on the commission is available at www.neostudycommission.org.