A petition started by ASUI President Samantha Perez has received more than 3,000 signatures in response to the Idaho State Board of Education’s decision to remove the term “flagship” from the University of Idaho’s mission statement.
Perez said she started the petition Saturday after she saw the outcry from upset UI students, faculty, staff and alumni.
“I decided to start an online petition so that people had a way to share their thoughts and show their support for our institution,” Perez said.
She said the ASUI Senate also mailed each SBOE member a letter explaining its disappointment and disapproval of the board’s decision. “I think a lot of faculty, staff, alumni and friends have all contacted the State Board and I think it’s been in the media enough that I think they are now realizing the magnitude of their decision and how upset we were,” Perez said. “I’m hoping the petition will just kind of top it all off and they’ll realize how many people this is affecting and how dissatisfied with the State Board people are and they will reverse their decision.”
Perez said although the petition does not mean the SBOE will overturn its decision she hopes it will have an impact.
“However many we get, I’ll send (it) to the State Board and just write them a letter and tell them ‘This many people want you to overturn your decision, it’s really important to us,'” Perez said. “I think it’s really important that they do listen to us.”
Chris Murray, vice president for University Advancement, said he was unsurprised by the response from UI students and alumni.
“Our alumni, who are very passionate and well-connected and successful leaders, are expressing themselves and their disappointment,” Murray said. “I think it’s a great way for students to express how they feel and express their own disappointment.”
Murray said removing the term “flagship” from the mission statement will not change the fact that UI is Idaho’s flagship university.
“The University of Idaho is the flagship research university for the state of Idaho. That won’t change with an edit from a governing board. We are who we are,” Murray said. “The fact remains that the University of Idaho is the state’s flagship research university. It’s not debatable and I think that’s part of the reaction that’s coming forward is that the mission statement doesn’t really reflect, accurately, who we are.”
Perez said she believes the decision made by the SBOE was political and not intended to benefit students.
“Other universities complained about it so they took it out and I don’t think that’s right, and I don’t think they’re representing the University of Idaho well. I think they’re punishing us,” Perez said. “We are the undisputed leader in the state of Idaho. We do the most research. We have the highest graduation rates. We do the most service for our community. We have the highest economic impact. We were the first university in the state. We’ve not only been deemed the flagship, but I feel like we’ve earned it. We are the leader.”
Perez said UI and the SBOE need to focus on what is important. She said each institution in the state should focus on providing quality education and employment opportunities to Idaho.
“I think that each institution has their own unique mission and role that they need to serve in the state and I think that we serve different audiences,” Perez said. “I think that we’re all important to the economy and important to the state, but the board needs to stop comparing us. They need to just let us be different because we are.”
Perez said she doesn’t think the current structure of the SBOE — which serves as the Board of Regents for UI and the Board of Trustees for state-sponsored public four-year colleges and universities — is beneficial to any of the institutions in Idaho.
“I don’t think having a super board is a good idea at all,” Perez said. “We should separate the board, do something so that the board has the best interests of all the institutions at heart.”
Perez said she thinks it is important for students to participate in the petition because of the underlying message she believes the decision sends to the public.
“I don’t think the problem is necessarily that they took ‘flagship’ out of our mission statement,” Perez said. “I think the problem is that the board is essentially denying all of the good things that the University of Idaho does for our state and for the economy. I think it’s more just that they’re not recognizing and they don’t have our best interests at heart. I think that the students should be concerned and they should be worried about the board’s lack of leadership.”
Murray said he was surprised by
the SBOE’s decision because an
accurate mission statement would include “flagship.”
“We will continue to use the term,” Murray said. “It is a descriptive term of who we are and our brand. We are the University of Idaho. We have students from all 50 states (and) 90 countries, who come here to study at the University of Idaho. We are today, and we always will be, the flagship institution of Idaho. That status nationally allows us to bring greater resources, greater knowledge and greater distinction to the state of Idaho and its people.”