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Show & Page 22 - UINTAH BASIN STANDARD. November 9. 1999 about 15 years ago. Gilliland traces the erosion totwo pivotal events. First, the Regents decided that, for binding Utah State University: is it giving away the farm? For year. Robert Gilliland haa fought to keep intact what he viewa aa Utah State Uniwrsitys atatewide mission. More often than not, he say, he haa come out a loeer. So now and again he reaorta toabit of humor, telling audience in public meeting hia new nickname on campus ia Gilliland. Weber State Univeraity, Southern Utah Univeraity, College of Eaatern Utah, Utah Valley State College, Salt Lake Community College they all have nibbled away at USU program aa they have aought expanded role in Utah higher education system, he said. Or have they? Not everyone agree with the expansive way USU interpret its land-gramuaioo, orevenwhat that mean today, more than 100 year after its charter was established. "I dont knowofmany states where mission la interpreted the land-grathe way it is in Utah," aaid Kerry Romesburg, UYSC president Escalating conflicts, over who does what and where in Utah, may be coming to a head aa the Utah State Board of Regents puts the finishing touches on a master plan that will, in part, define each institutions role. But Gilliland, USU vice president for university extension, can easily quantify the toll that growth at other institutions has taken on USU. Between 1991-9it lost an average $552,857 annually in state appropriations and tuition fees. And ifthe Board id Regents approves five program requests, USU could lose another $1.3 million or so a year, he claims. The Regents will discuss three of these requests including masters of business administration proposals from WSU and SUU at its meeting Thursday and Friday on the UVSC campus. Over time, we've given up nearly nt nt 7, all our lower-divisio- n classes, Gilliland said. Now we're givingaway whole degrees at the baccalaureate and masters levels. Most of those programs have been lucrative offering in (Men, Orem and Cedar City, which USU relied on to subsidize its offerings in rural areas. But conflicts have arisen in the hinterlands as well. In Moab, for example, USU ceded to pick up those students as they courses. But to dgmsivlftirthssdvanrrdrlaSllf didn't materialize. moved upper-divisio- 1 - rf- USU now has nine students enrolled in Moab, and its program there is nearly bankrupt. We're on the bubble about whether we can stay," Gilliland said. He foamed the problem succinctly at the October regent' meeting in Ogden: USU either has a land-gramission that is different from the mission of the other institutions in the state, or it doesn't. Institutions: At its inception, USUs role was distinctive among other colleges and universities in the state. The college was established under the Morrill Act, signed into law in 1862 by Abraham Lincoln residents of to ensure working-clas- s rural areas werent denied advanced educations in agriculture, home economics, mechanical arts and classical studies. The act allowed each territory to sell a tract of federal land and use the proceeds to set up a college. Hence, they became known as land-grainstitutions. A second law, the Hatch Act of 1887, provided federal hinds to establish experimental research stations as schools. part of the land-graToday there are 105 land-gracolleges and universities, which include some of the nations most illustrious schools such a MIT in Cambridge, Purdue University in Indiana and Cornell University in New York. A new problem soon arose, however. What good was cutting-edg- e agricultural research if it didn't get into the hands of fanners who needed it? With that in mind, Congress passed Act in 1914, which the Smith-Levset up the Cooperative Extension Service to take the latest research out into the field. The land-graschools, then, were to reach out across their states. As times changed, so did the content and array ofextension programs, and USU became, as some put it, the king of outreach programs. It has 33 continuing education center. 29 cooperative extension offices and 23 sites where students can receive TV courses broadcast over the Utah Education Network. Its experience with distance learning programs, in which it pioneered use of technology to bring courses to the state's farthest reaches, is unmatched. USU has used this system to branch out beyond animal husbandry and canning classes to subjects more pertinent to the times. Land-Gra- nt nt nt nt er nt n Technological Advances: But USUs hold on the land began to slip purposes, colleges could include students in distance programs in their enrollment counts. That, coupled with advances in technology, triggered a gold rush of sorts in distance education, though initially there wasn't muchconsternationon USU's cenpart since it had ters around the state. Second, Utah witnessed the advent of the community college and a progressive case of academic creep. UVSC was the first school that aought to shuck its technical trade trappings for the more prestigious community college status, which it received in 1993. That came on the heels of Weber State's and Southern Utahs tranformations from colleges to universities in 1991, though SUU had status since 1965. had four-yea- r That is when the alarm bells really began goingoffat USU, Gilliland said. When Icame here, we were being challenged heavily in certain areas, said Gilliland, whs has held his post for seven years. Southeastern Utah was a battleground. That's where started. CEU had argued successfully to the Regents that USU should give up course offerings in its lower-divisiMoab and stick solely to A- Gilliland said. But others in higher education say USU has inflated its mission. The real question is, 'Does USU haw some mandate in offering course in every area ofthe state, or in offering course in areas of the state that are not being served? Romesburg said. USU s mandate for extension programs aside, Romesburg describes himself as an open market guy, a classic capitalist I don't beliew we should protect institutions and tell people where they haw to go to the point of denying them access (to certain areas, he said. Petersen said USUs role is one of evolving responsibility to identify needs in the state that are not served by regional institutions and to fill those gaps with distance education or on-sifaculty. He offers Davis, Garfield and Piute counties as places currentlyunderaerwd by higher education. There are other institutions in the state eight of them, to be exact that provide programs in various parts of Utah. To start from the institupremise that as a land-gration it has a role in serving the ftill gamut of higher education needs in the state is not an accurate reflection ofwhere we are in Utah in the 1990a, Petersen said. Such comments underscore intense interest in an updated master plan for higher education. The plan hasn't been ftilly revamped since 1986. Part ofthe newly reworked document will be shared with the regents at their monthly meeting this week. What iU (USUs role will be in the state and how that relates to the regional roles ofthe other institutions has to be one of the central questions we deal with, Petersen said. It impinges on the decision that will be made on MBA proposals from Weber and SUU, and it impacts on the relationship between USU and CEU in southeastern Utah, and it impacts other pans of the state as well. The regents' proposal will be scni- tinized by the Utah Leg- - islature. The Board of Regents needs to step abow that fray and ask whats best for the state iff Utah, said Sen. and Senate Lyle Hillyard, Majority Leader. And two, how do we get that with the dollars we haw? I don't think the Legislature is going to be sympathetic to pleas from two institutions tiyingto do the same thing in the same areas. Some higher educatkmstake holders are advocating more cooperation among institutions while at the same time allowing competition between programs. Given the circumstances, Gilliland thinks a more formalized birddogrole for USU might not be a bad one. It could aerw aa an incubator for programs, seeding and growingthem for three to five years and then turning them over to another school. P lower-divisio- upper-divisio- ar , Alzheimers patients need love, attention be Alzheimer's. Because we all know the awful course the disease eventually will take, it is only natural to want to deny that we or a dose family member has been struck by it. Denial, however, wont change anything and it likely will make dealing with the disease a more difficult trial than it need be. A person with Alzheimer's, ewn in its early stages, has special needs that family members, friends and others in a position to be of help must recognise. For example, set routines become important, because routines are less taxing on memory . Little things, like making lists, can help. As the disease progresses, of course, its victims need others to help them with the daily business of life and, eventually, constant care. The odd tricks Alzheimer's plays can be maddening: A victim might vividly recount an event of thirty or inite risk pattern skin to links be- more years ago, but not recognize tween bad diet and heart disease or the person seated across the dinner smoking and cancer. Nor does the table. Those who care for disease progress at a predictable Alzheimers victims must bring pace. Some people go on for years abundant patience to the task. I am old enough to haw lost with little serious difficulty, while some dear friends to Alzheimer's. others deteriorate rapidly. Some advances are being made, Td be lying if I said any amount of however. Early detection and treat- analysis or news of progress on rement can delay the onset of the search makes those losses any easier worst symptoms. And there is hope, to accept. albeit still off on the distant scienThe one thing I strive to do, howtific horizon, of a cure one day. ever, is to cherish the times we had Mean while, what can we do about together, and to treat each moment it? as a precious gift from God. Thats One ofthe most important things something all of us should do with is to recognise and face up to the the onea we love, regardless of possibility that early symptoms may whether Alzheimer's should strike. Its first signs are seemingly benign. A misplaced set of car keys, an appointment missed things many of us have done at all agea. But slowly, relentlessly, too many little incidents of forgetfulness point toward a usually devastating diagnosis: Alzheimer's Disease. Alzheimers, it haa been said, is the crudest of diseases. It usually strikes in old age, turning plans for golden years of retirement into a struggle against fading memory and mental function. In its early stages, it is aa much irritation as anything else, but eventually it robs its victims even of recognition of those they low. Until the final stages, however, the body is left intact. Victims quite literally lose their minds but not necessarily much else. Hie cause and the pace of the diseases progression remain a mystery. Like some cruel lottery, medical science has not yet found a def- te nt n That was an issue because classes attract abigger pool of students that you need to be viable in a distant location, Gilliland said. There was an issue ofcontinuity as well. Students wanted to be able to n courses proceed from a through degree without straight switching institutions. But CEU's view carried the dqy as it should have, said Mike Petersen, who was then the college's president and now is associate commissioner for higher edu- - cation. It seemed to me that we could deliver the programs more efficiently in Moab than Utah State could, and that it would be a wiser use of resources for Utah State to haw priman and graduate-leve- l rily an focus in the southeastern part of the state, Petersen said. Skirmishes began to surface elsewhere as WSU and SUU pursued graduate degree programs and UVSC expanded its array of bachelor degrees. The latest standofTs pit USU against WSU, SUU and UVSC, which hawmade proposals to the regents for school programs that the land-graargues duplicate its offerings. Both WSU and SUU are seeking master's of business administration programs. SUU also has proposed baccalaureate degrees in business administrationand psychology, which would be delivered electronically to Richfield and St George. And UVSC wants to offer a four-yeprofessional pilot degree. We become the bird dog. We flush Reprinted with permission ofthe Salt them out, and they take them, Lake Tribune. lower-divisio- ftP-- . .1' BIG SWINGER-- A recess. East Elementary student gets high in the air during W V i He V t Im your new neighbor. Stop by to say hi. i provide Backed by Good I" quality insurance. Neighbor service. . Andy Driggs --. .V - vA V, - 'W1' - X ; a STATE FARM i STATE FARM it 1 ' 180 N. 300 E. Roosevelt, Utah b n J f.j ;i r UrY i s r hi !! - a INSURANCE Pi 722-24- 15 Like a good neighbor. State Farm is there. 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