University Business - February 2008 - (Page 28)

FUTURE SHOCK the 17th century. Salem State’s aspirations stand out among its Massachusetts state college peers as it strives toward university status by developing mission complementary doctoral programs in the several ﬁelds of nursing, education, geo-information sciences, and social work. SERVING RURAL COMMUNITY NEEDS Turning north toward the Canadian border where the Fish River meets the St. John lies the University of Maine at Fort Kent, named three years in a row by the Princeton Review as a “Best Northeastern College.” Founded in 1878 as the Madawaska Training School, Fort Kent was chartered to serve the educational and civic needs of French-speaking Acadian people who had become U.S. citizens. UMFK’s unique mission is to serve the needs of rural communities, preserving Maine’s natural environment and celebrating and exploring the region’s Franco-American heritage. The university’s president, Richard Cost, considers this heritage intertwined with the history of the United States, and Fort Kent in particular. Early on in his presidency, Cost reminded the UMFK community, “Major William Dickey understood that the only way [French-speaking Acadians] could be educated would be to create a school for teachers here in the valley.” Today UMFK houses the Acadian Archives, one of the most comprehensive repositories of Acadian culture in the United States. The 1863 enabling legislation that established the ﬁrst normal school in Maine gave birth to the state’s ﬁrst public institution of higher learning. While the Farmington Normal School stayed true to its teacher preparation mission, there was a strong belief that eﬀective teachers must have a liberal arts background if they were to teach the arts and sciences. After merging with the University of Maine system in 1968, the institution became known as the University of Maine, Farmington. Celebrating its liberal arts traditions, UMF has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report for more than a decade as one of “America’s Best Colleges” and by the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) as one of 20 schools that foster student success. ACADEMIC JOURNEYS On the banks of the St. Mary’s River lies a special independent, public institution of higher learning. Founded in 1840 as a girls’ boarding school, St. Mary’s College of Maryland has been ranked near the top nationally among public, liberal arts colleges by U.S. News & World Report—and called a “best buy” by the Princeton Review and Barron’s Best Buys. Featured in Newsweek’s America’s Hottest Colleges and the These state colleges have become more selective, competitive, and attractive. 2006 Fiske Guide to Colleges, St. Mary’s is often cited as a national model charter college. St. Mary’s College has become an elite public institution where the largely undisturbed historic city surroundings allow students to experience history, while its honors college designation encourages students to create their own paths. Emerging from two Kentucky institutions, Central University and Walters Collegiate Institute, Eastern Kentucky University has reached far beyond its early development as a normal school established in 1906 by the Kentucky General Assembly to train classroom teachers. With more than 160-degree programs and its own planetarium, EKU has developed a prominent focus on the health and safety needs of the nation. By way of example, EKU has rolled out its latest interdisciplinary degree program—a program in homeland security that is wrapped around the career ﬁelds of public safety, security, and emergency management. President Doug Whitlock explains that the highest proﬁle public safety, security, and emergency management program is the College of Justice and Safety, which enrolls about 1,640 majors and currently has about $80 million annually in externally funded projects. Consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation’s top comprehensive public colleges, Lewis-Clark State College began its evolutionary journey with the creation of a normal school by the Idaho legislature in 1893. While the primary mission of the school was to prepare teachers to serve in rural, one-roomclassroom schools, over time the institution grew in size and programs and was authorized to award bachelor’s degrees. Lewis-Clark’s modern development was not without its challenges, however, and declining enrollment coupled with ﬁnancial woes at the outset of the Korean War led the Idaho legislature to close the school in 1951—only to reopen it in 1955 as the Lewis-Clark Normal School. Finally in 1971, the legislature changed the name to the Lewis-Clark State College to reﬂect its expanded mission. Conceived and chartered as small normal schools over a century ago, these and other aspiring state colleges have achieved ﬂagship status through academic program diversiﬁcation, degree elevation, niche marketing, and by partnering with mission complementary institutions, businesses, government, and the nonproﬁt sector. Beyond academic program comprehensiveness, graduate level degrees, and applied research, these state colleges have become more selective, competitive, and attractive to an increasing segment of U.S. middle class families—who have been squeezed out of the private higher education marketplace by spiraling tuition rates and declining ﬁnancial aid. Horace Mann, an early founder of American state colleges, would take considerable pride in the achievements of these ﬂagship institutions, recognizing that “a rising tide lifts all boats.” 28 | February 2008 universitybusiness.com http://universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - February 2008

University Business - February 2008
Contents
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Editor's Note
Stats Watch
Sense of Place
Viewpoint
Future Shock
Independent Outlook
On the Hill
Facilities Focus
Cover Story: Orientation Rites: Seal the Deal
A Sense of Security
Growing the Giving Tree
Are We Covered?
Baby Boomers, Back to Campus
Internet Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
End Note

University Business - February 2008