The budget robots move to eliminate 11 degree programs at Rhode Island colleges

Here we go again - time and time again - eliminate opportunity in the name of cost savings. There is no courage here - there seems to be no courage within administrators in power to make decisions over people's lives.

Yesterday's Providence Pamphlet (Providence Journal) had a lead story involving the elimination of 11 degree programs at state universities here in Rhode Island. As always, the excuse is to save money. Say what you want, money is never saved, especially if you look at the savings in the long run. Consolidation robots are having a field day. If you have read this site, you know that my position is diametrically opposed to the consolidation efforts of government and industry. Consolidation can be necessary when some organization is simply out of money; but you all know the truth, government is not out of money.

What will be missed is opportunity for Rhode Island; but more importantly, individual students are being deprived of potential. Citizens will be deprived of an opportunity to pursue their dreams within their home state because of the consolidation robots. If every state follows suit, this country is in dire shape!

I'll touch on just a couple of degree areas that are being eliminated at the University of Rhode Island (URI). B.A. Latin American Studies - who cares about those Latin Americans anyway; as Dan Quayle once said, who speaks Latin in this day and age? Next is B.A. Physics - we don't need to worry - we already know about the theory of relativity. This is the theory that when times get tough, robots consolidate programs relative to the amount of money available. How about this one; B.S. in Chemical and Ocean Engineering - we don't need this - the oceans are only our future as humans on this Planet - green energy from the oceans be damned! No more B.S. in Chemistry and Chemical Oceanography - take that Rhode Island - the "Ocean State".

I've only touched on a few of the changes coming to the Rhode Island educational system. To the administrators that can't find a way around the obstacles, turn the teaching back over to the teachers. Stop administering if you can't find the courage to establish new ways of doing business. While positions will be lost at the universities through attrition because of cost cutting, new ways to structure majors to meet the needs of students simply have to be found.

Damn it! Just look at what a college education costs today. Are you telling me that we have to have fewer majors than we had 10 years ago when the cost of an education was half of what it is now? Students are taking loans over $100,000 for 4 years of college and you can't find a way to make their education match their true vocation?

Fewer administrators, more professors and a little courage to meet the needs of the student is what is required. This can be accomplished with significant cost savings.

tomtoak

The North Woods Issue at URI in the News

In Today's Providence Journal, there is a front page story about the controversy surrounding the construction of a new Research Park within the North Woods. The article entitled; "Their fight to save a forest at URI", by Peter Lord, discusses the issues concerning both sides of the decision to site new research facilities. The Providence Journal has also posted a video on their web page. (you may have to sign up to view the video)

As a forester who has studied the area in question, I'll give you my impression of the controversy and explain why I think the research facilities need to be located a few hundred yards away.

Last year, my Forest Management class studied the North Woods for the entire semester. We learned that the forest adjacent to the road (an area of approximately 20 acres) was the oldest forest stand in the 100 acres that we studied. This stand; as luck would have it, serves as the footprint for the proposed research park. The proposed facilities will require the construction of many buildings and new parking facilities.

The forest is approaching 100 years of age (95-100 years) and this was determined by taking a number of increment cores from trees on the site. There are trees that are actually older than the main stand. These trees most likely served as shade trees for cattle during the agricultural past, or they were border trees. A study of the oldest aerial photography from 1939, showed that this stand was an estimated 30 years old at that time. In 1939, this young pole timber stand was resilient enough to withstand the 1938 hurricane. The stand comprised largely of Red and Black Oak is located on very productive soils for growing trees. There is virtually no sign of coppice regeneration (coppice means emanating from stumps or roots). This is an important factor in determining past logging history. Most stands in Rhode Island have a significant amount of coppice regeneration. As logging occurred, the next forest would start from the stumps of the trees that were cut. In the North Woods, it is apparent that trees got their start from seed (acorns in this case). A forest like this is very hard to find in Southern Rhode Island.
I want to note that there are many other areas in the North Woods where logging has been quite significant. These areas are not currently being considered for the research facilities.

The class studied the timber in this stand and determined that there is an estimated 170,000 board feet of timber on this 20 acres and almost 130,000 board feet was Red and Black Oak. What does this mean? I've had a lot of people ask me the question; how much is the timber worth? If the economy was going strong and the mills were looking for some high quality oak, the timber could command a very high price for the region ($400 - 600 per 1000 board feet). This could place the value of the oak timber at $75,000. As you all know, the economy is in the tank and consequently, wood is not moving. Timber sales are a lot like stock sales; you want to sell when the market is up, not when the market is down. Today's prices would only bring in an estimated $25,000. URI is not going to get rich by cutting the trees in either case; this is the point I want to make.

The more important use for this stand is its value as a living laboratory, its proximity to the students and its aesthetic values for this beautiful campus. It seems to me that the research park could be placed a short distance to the west. Perhaps a short walking trail could be developed through the North Woods to connect directly the buildings that would link to the facility.

I'm no expert on research parks; but I do understand the forests of the northeast, and I can tell you that the North Woods is a special place. The URI administration has an idea to grow the University and elevate its stature around the country and the world. The idea is a good idea and should be pursued aggressively. Compromise on the footprint is an essential consideration in this debate.

I do have one question for the administration though. It seems to me that a successful research park will require a place for visiting scientists to live when they travel here. I have not seen a recommendation for siting an on-campus hotel as part of the plan. It just seems to be an important question.

I want to personally thank the students who have shown me they really care. In the left hand column is a slide show on the North Woods. You can click on it to expand it.

tomtoak

URI Students Work to Save the North Woods

Times sure are different; as bad as this economy is, things are better than when I went to college. I have had the pleasure of working with a group of students at the University of Rhode Island that are dedicated to saving an area of campus known as the "North Woods". The University would like to construct a new Research Park that would utilize almost 30 acres on the north side of campus. Unfortunately, this proposed park would land right on top of a 100 year- old forest that has been largely undisturbed.

Students have started to do all of the right things. They have gathered information, asked to meet with professors, sought advice from a number of sources and developed a plan to approach the Administration. Nobody is trying to make headlines here. These students believe that a research park is a good thing for the University; they are just concerned about URI losing rural character and an important teaching tool that they are all familiar with. When concerned about how to handle any press, a group prepared a press release to focus the discussion appropriately.

I have had the honor to work with so many of these students that truly care about their University and the North Woods. They understand that URI needs both a research park and this natural laboratory.

When I attended UMass (1968-1972) student grievances were handled a little differently. On my first day at UMass, student orientation, June 5, 1968, Robert Kennedy was assassinated. This happened just 3 months after the loss of Martin Luther King. I remember a visit to the campus by Hubert Humphrey after he lost the election to Richard Nixon. Humphrey actually came to our dorm. A group of disgruntled students surrounded him and demanded that they meet with him privately. The scene was very tense but he handled it well. He never got to speak to the student body that evening because an obnoxious professor took over a microphone and would not stop his rant against the war in Vietnam. Humphrey had to walk off stage. Strom Thurman, Senator from South Carolina, came to campus to speak one time and was greeted by students dressed in KKK garb. As they approached the stage, Thurman exited through a back door and got into his limo. I stood and watched in horror as students tried to turn the vehicle over. He managed to escape without anyone getting hurt. When UMass announced a hike in tuition from $50 per semester to $150, a group of student protesters had a sit-in at the Administration building.

Times have changed. Students have changed and it's all for the better. Let's hope that there is a win-win for everyone here. Can you imagine one of these dedicated students arriving at the University 40 years from now and taking a walk through the North Woods on their way to a meeting at the Research Park? They would be proud and they should be proud.

I still wish tuition was $50 per semester though!

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