The University of Idaho Faculty Senate passed a resolution expressing its “profound disappointment” in the State Board of Education’s decision to remove “flagship” from the university’s mission statement.
Faculty Senate Vice-Chair Kenton Bird wrote the resolution that was adopted unanimously by the senate in February.
“I volunteered to draft a resolution that would put onto one page all of the concerns of the Faculty Senate,” Bird said. “No matter what the mission statement is, the university is still the flagship.”
The Faculty Senate is asking the board to reconsider its decision at the next SBOE meeting in April on UI’s Moscow campus.
A copy of the resolution was sent to each member of the board of regents. Bird said the board has not shown any indication that they will discuss the mission statements again. He said he hopes people show up to the open portion of the meeting and speak on behalf of the
university in favor of reinstating the term “flagship” to the mission statement.
“The board’s actions won’t actually change who we are as an institution. The mission statements are more symbolic than practical,” Bird said. “This was a slight to the reputation of the University of Idaho and it was unnecessary.”
The resolution cited several reasons for the Faculty Senate’s disapproval of the decision, including the record number of national merit scholars that attend the University of Idaho.
“I think it’s good that Idaho has three strong universities in different parts of the state, each with distinctive missions,” Bird said.
He said one of the missions of the board when editing the statements was to erase the distinctions and even the playing field for the universities. He said this was unnecessary because each university has something different to offer.
According to the resolution, UI has been in operation longer than Idaho has been recognized as a state, thus making it the flagship institution in Idaho.
The Faculty Senate also believes UI is the flagship institution in Idaho because it has awarded more than 100,000 degrees since it opened in 1896, and because it’s a land-grant research institution.
Additionally, the Faculty Senate believes the “flagship” status enhances the university’s ability to attract students, faculty and staff.
“(The resolution) wasn’t intended to be disrespectful of the state board, but to respectfully and publicly go on record and say that we disagreed with that decision,” Bird said.
Bird said he does not think the state board will reconsider its decision despite the outcry from UI students, faculty and alumni.
“Perhaps next time the mission statements are considered, the ‘flagship’ term will be reinstated. We just don’t know at this point,” Bird said.
Kaitlyn Krasselt can be reached at [email protected]