Farewell

-30-

Lame ... And shame on you, fools! Who destroys art, anyway???

Ellerbroek, working on the piece a few nights ago

My daughter and I happened to be walking through the Minnesota State University campus this afternoon when we came across Jesse Ellerbroek, the artist doing the snow sculpture on the mall. From a distance, it looked amazing, and Emma and I walked a little faster to get up to it.

And then we noticed something was wrong. Ellerbroek's original design was supposed to include a globe. But this looked like a half-globe. It was also supposed to include two rabbits ... But one of these rabbits had a decidedly short muzzle.

Why?

Vandals.

They came like idiots in the night and found the only shovel that wasn't chained down. They used that shovel to hack up Ellerbroek's work, chopping up the globe, chopping off the muzzle. And, in the process, they chopped up a little bit of the reputation of MSU students.

I know there will be a significant number of people, when they hear about this, they'll laugh, laugh at the rowdy college kids who hacked up the bunnies. But really? A guy who went to MSU came back to do something really creative. And after seeing the piece today, I must say I was really, really impressed. I wasn't sure how, when I interviewed Jesse for the story that ran the other day, how this would turn out. And how do the current students show their respect?

Part of me really isn't surprised. It's the kind of thing that can happens on any college campus ... Or can it? I hate to say this, but I found myself wondering whether this hack job would have occurred on the Gustavus Adolphus College campus.

What do you think? Let me know.

And I'll leave you with this thought: Greg Wilkins, the student activities director responsible for bringing in Ellerbroek, put a sign up next to where the artist was working this afternoon. It was a simple sandwich board, the kind that ordinarily would be used to advertise upcoming events. Instead, today, it was emblazoned with five big letters: S-H-A-M-E.

Funding cuts are inevitable, but maybe we should spare community colleges

Under the category of "Minnesota isn't the only place it sucks for higher ed funding," I submit to you this from Stateline:

"COMMUNITY COLLEGE TUITION: As state legislators start chewing over their budget proposals, community college officials are warning that next year could force big tuition increases. In Arizona, Governor Jan Brewer wants to cut state aid to community colleges by 85 percent. Iowa community colleges stand to lose millions in state aid under Governor Terry Branstad's budget after already taking a hit under former Governor Chet Culver.  And in California, Governor Jerry Brown has proposed cutting $400 million from community colleges while also raising student fees. Until now, many states had tried to limit cuts to community colleges in an effort to keep some form of higher education accessible even as funding for four-year schools was being reduced."

So as you can see, community colleges are having a rough go of things around the country. Which really confuses me. While this article doesn't really put the cuts into context, it leads one to wonder why would community colleges be taking such a big hit. They're the cheapest colleges to run, don't require the big budgets to compete for star faculty. And perhaps more importantly, given the nation's push to make it easier for people to return to college for re-careering, community colleges remain the most viable option to take the vast majority of those students.

Maybe the budget thing is worse than we all thought. Maybe it's going to take more cutting all around. Maybe it's a bad idea to reign in education spending while trying to inspire more people to go back to college. I don't know. What I do know is community colleges are becoming the a bigger and bigger part of what's important about higher education.

From my personal experience, I can tell you South Central College was instrumental in transforming my wife's career. She worked for years at a bank, a job she did well, but it never really resonated with her personally. So she went to MSU's nursing program, figuring her alma mater would welcome her with open arms. They, um, didn't. In fact they basically discouraged her from trying. And after that meeting, she nearly gave up on the idea of becoming a nurse. But instead she decided to try talking to the folks at South Central College. Three years later, she earned a degree, got a job, loves her career and earns a lot more money.

And a community college made it possible.

Gainful employment rule: A good idea or unfair burden on for-profit colleges?

I don't normally spend too much time here discussing higher education policy and the like, but during the last few months there's been a growing debate over some new regulations coming down the pike for so-called "for profit" higher education institutions, sometimes referred to "career colleges."

The controversy surrounds something called the gainful employment rule, and there's been quite a bit of lobbying on both sides to try and influence what the Obama administration ultimately does. In short, the gainful employment rule will require for-profit schools that receive any federal dollars -- and most of the legitimate ones do -- to show that their graduates are getting good jobs that pay well, well enough for them to repay their student loans. 

If you're unclear on the concept of a for-profit school, here's a quick primer: In the immediate southern Minnesota area, we've got a few of these, the most prominent of which is Rasmussen College, a fine institution with good programs and a placement service they're very proud of. Also included would be the local Cosmetology Training Center, the University of Phoenix (the college with the largest enrollment in North America) and other schools such as DeVry, Kaplan, Argosy, and the list goes on and on and on. There are thousands in the U.S.

And for the most part, they're opposed to this rule, including the University of Phoenix.

I attended an Education Writer's Association conference in St. Petersburg, FL, last weekend where this topic was widely discussed. And it's only going to get more interesting.

I'm not quite sure why the for-profit schools are resisting this idea of gainful employment. Seems like it makes sense. Offer programs that people want, and programs where there are jobs, and they'll naturally find jobs if you're program is a decent one.

I think where some of the problems might be arising is from smaller schools that maybe don't have quite as good a history with finding jobs for its graduates. One speaker at the EWA conference was a reporter from the Detroit Free Press who did a big investigation of these programs in Michigan and found that many of the programs taking federal money were not placing their workers -- this at a time when the governor there was pushing the state's No Worker Left Behind initiative.

Anyway, I'm planning a future piece on this where I'll talk to our local institutions. Stay tuned.

I say fly this rebel flag high, and fly it proud

Don't have a lotta time to entertain you with my thoughts today, but as I'm lounging in the lobby of the Courtyad Marriot in sunny, sunny -- oh my god, I can see and smell the ocean! -- St. Petersburg, FLA, I thought I'd quick direct your attention to a little higher ed squabble down the road from here.

Check out the image posted here. If you look quickly, it's a simple sad, embarrassing rebel flag. But upon closer examination, it's much more than that.

The image was part of a faculty gallery, and the president decided it'd be better for everyone involved if that image wasn't part of the rest of the exhibit, given the negative attention it's attracting and all.

So check it out, read the piece in Inside Higher Ed, and ask yourself this important question: Wouldn't you rather be in sunny, sunny St. Petersburg? Ha!

The search for a new MnSCU chancellor needs a little spicing up. Here's my two cents ...

So the search for a replacement for MnSCU Chancellor extraordinaire James McCormick has come down to two dudes. One's a VP from the U of M. The other's the higher ed commissioner in Utah. Both seem reasonably qualified, and I'm sure the system that gave me my degree would be more than admirably served either.

But as I scanned the qualifications of both, it struck me that what this system needs is a leader that will bring a wow factor to the position, someone with a NAME, someone whose mere presence will make the nation's higher ed community say, wtf?

So, without further adieu, and with all due respect to finalists Steven Rosenstone of the U and William Sederbug of Utah, I have come up with a list possible candidates who would, surely, take the system in a different direction.

1. Rush Limbaugh

Have you the latest flap about his impression of a Chinese accent? Priceless stuff, am I right? Another thoughtful moment in the life of the National Blowhard. But think about this: He's kind of a PR genius, and with this giant, steaming turd of a blunder still stinking up the national biffy, Rush is perfectly poised to parlay that attention into jobs at Fox News for all MnSCU graduates. The perfect guy to welcome the Chinese pilots to Mankato.

2. Ronald McDonald

Here's why I like this choice: Imagine the next MnSCU board meeting, where all the important men and women in their business suits and power ties are seated around the horseshoe table, and just when someone's about to second someone's approval of the minutes from the previous meeting, in busts Ronald, big red wig and all, and he's tossing cheeseburger and filet-o-fish sandwiches to all the board members, and here comes the hamburglar, depantsing the chair of the board, and there's grimace, mixing margarita's in the back by the coffee and doughnuts! Now that's what I call a meeting!

3. Hosni Mubarek

He seems available.







4. Rahm Emmanuel (or his cousin, Emmanuelle)

This might be my favorite choice. Why? Imagine the verbal row that would erupt the minute some lawmaker or governor tried telling MnSCU that it needed to "do more with less." Rahm'd be like, "Listen you mother (expletive deleted), how'd you like to take your (expletive deleted) budget cuts and shove 'em up your (expletive deleted)!!!" A real no-nonsense kind of chancellor, Rahm'd be.





5. Bruce Springsteen

Every meeting would begin with, "One, two, one-two-three-four!"








6. YouTube guy. Remember? The guy who told the home intruder, "We gonna find you!"

Dew rags will become mandatory for all college presidents, which would make the next convocation especially entertaining.

7. Brett Favre

Each year, we'd get to experience the unique thrill of never knowing if he'll be back. Plus, like Mubarek, he seems available.

8. Jig from the "Saw" franchise.


Any jokes would be tasteless at best. But he's real, real good at getting people to make dramatic cuts.

And I'm still pondering this. When I get my list complete, I'll forward it to the MnSCU board.

Thanks for the memories, Cheri

Every year, a bunch of people, good hard working people, retire from Minnesota State University. Most of them are worthy of note in some way. Today, I share with you news of one such retirement.

Cheri Bowyer has been the office manager of the Student Senate ever since I was a student there (I know, forever, right?) And over the years, as that office has seen hundreds of ambitious, world-changing students come and go, there has been one constant, calm, adult presence that keeps everything grounded.

Back when I was editor of the student newspaper, The Reporter, she had just gotten hired at the senate. It was my old friend Randy Wanke who hired her (truth be told, it was Randy to clued me in to Cheri's retirement ... thanks, Randy.) The following year, Randy was gone but I remained editor. A new president came in, a guy named Kris Hammes. For various reasons, Kris' student senate and my student newspaper didn't get along all that well. And I remember Cheri, with her amazing smile, being the diplomatic one, calming things down, helping cooler heads prevail.

She epitomizes class and grace. She's kind beyond measure. And although many in the community may be more familiar with the athletic exploits of her husband, the famous baseball coach Dean Bowyer, I can assure you Cheri is the brains of the operation.

Farewell, Cheri. You should be very proud of the work you've done and the lives you've touched. Well done.