The Idaho State Board of Education opened up a can of worms yesterday when they required the University of Idaho to remove flagship from its mission.
For those of you who don’t know, the University of Idaho was established before the state of Idaho became a state. It is even written into the state constitution. Not only that, Idaho is the land-grant institution, operating in 42 of the 44 counties. According to Dr. Duane Nellis, the University of Idaho President, the University of Idaho touches 400,000 people through its extension programs. No other college or university in Idaho comes close.
Building upon that, the University of Idaho contributes nearly $1 billion to the state of Idaho economy, that is 1.9 percent of the Idaho economy. That is a tremendous amount of money for a state like Idaho.In 2009 the University of Idaho expended more than $88.2 million in research according to the National Science Foundation. This is the most recent data available. Other universities research spending in the state of Idaho is Idaho State University with $20.5 million and Boise State University with $11.9 million.
Next let’s look at the graduation rates of the major universities within the state of Idaho. The University of Idaho had a six-year graduation rate of 53%, 31% at Idaho State University, 28% at Boise State University and 27% at Lewis-Clark State College.
Let’s look at the definition of flagship and a Moscow Daily News article does just that.
Former University of California Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl described flagship universities during a 1998 convocation address at Texas A&M University, The Associated Press reported.
“In most cases, these institutions were the first public universities to be established in their states,” Berdahl said.
Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines “flagship” as “the finest, largest, or most important one of a series, network or chain.”
Clearly, this evidence shows that the University of Idaho is the flagship university within the state of Idaho. They lead in research expenditures, are the land-grant institution reaching more than 400,000 people throughout the state, have a presence in 42 of the 44 counties, and graduation rates are quite telling.
Not all universities and colleges are the same in Idaho. They all serve different constituents and have different missions. The University of Idaho has the land-grant mission and clearly stands out as the flagship institution within the state.
The Idaho State Board of Education erred when they forced the University of Idaho to remove flagship from its mission. Now is the time to contact the State Board and let them know they are wrong and need to correct it now. If they don’t fix this error in judgement, then processes should be started to remove all those members from the Board.
You can contact them by email at board@osbe.idaho.gov, by phone at 208-334-2270 or leave a message on their Facebook page.
But despite this error, it can not diminish the fact that the University of Idaho is THE Flagship University in the state of Idaho.
Mile High Soapbox 
The state-wide position of the University of Idaho has long suffered from the distance that exists between Moscow and the rest of southern Idaho. I became so aware of that when I went to work for Dr. Ernest Hartung in the mid-60’s when he was determined to establish the free-standing University of Idaho Foundation. I was fortunate to be a part of that period of time and the great growth of our university. He knew the designation of “Land-Grant” had a special meaning to our state and worked hard to have the recognition of that special designation honored. Then came the “board of higher education” and all of the political efforts to level the “Board of Regents” power within the legislature. They got it done!! And BJC became the center of attention at the expense of a growing and “picked at” university of the north. I was so privileged to serve Hartung from 1965 to 1975 when he was asked to step down — and I left for San Diego State U. I hope so sincerely that our alumni will respond to this “call” to let them know that they are “off base” once again.
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Parker, Thank you for the comment. I think the alumni are standing up and letting them know that they erred and there is more to the state than Boise.
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