M. Duane Nellis, Doug Baker, Dana Stover, Matt Kleffner, John Hammel, Ray Gasser, Heather Shea Gasser and Kevin Woelfel.
You may love them, hate them or have no idea who they are or what they do. But each of these people plays, or played, a crucial role at the University of Idaho. Among these leaders are a university president, provost, dean, assistant dean and two directors. And each of them is moving on to something bigger.
That’s eight prominent leaders to leave UI in one semester. But can we blame them for pursuing career advancements? No, because Idaho clearly lacks a spirit of investment in education.
In a nation that undervalues education as a whole, Idaho is ranked dead last. It’s No. 50 in the U.S. for the amount of money it invests per student, according to the Idaho Education Association. UI faculty and staff have received only one pay increase in the past five years.
Of course universities such as Texas Tech University and Northern Illinois University are more appealing to UI administrators — they have more resources and offer higher salaries.
These leaders are not taking a step down by leaving UI. They are accepting greater positions anybody would if given the chance.
Take former UI Director of Housing Ray Gasser, for example. He left Idaho for the position of Senior Associate Director of Residential Life and Housing Services at Michigan State University, which has the largest housing program in the nation — a prestigious opportunity Gasser would be remiss to pass up.
It’s human nature to want to better yourself and your family, and it’s common in any career field to want to advance, especially higher education.
Sure, Moscow is a great town and UI is a beautiful campus that offers a quality education.
But the bottom line is there is little incentive to stay here for people who want to advance their careers.
The loss of a university president obviously has more impact than the loss of the director of the Women’s Center, but every person leaving this year had a valuable position on campus.
UI’s interim leaders, such as Don Burnett, are capable and deserving of their newfound roles. But if UI wants to transition from a university of interim leaders to a university that attracts and maintains quality professionals, it’s going to require every Idahoan to change their mentality toward higher education, and make it a priority.
— BK