Yesterday I took a flight south and sat next to a young man who grew up in Butte County. In total, 5 dwellings have been lost in his family. His sister, two aunts, 1 cousin, and his grandmother each lost a house in the Camp Fire. His parents' house still stands and now shelters his sister and grandmother. He commented that his extended family has never really had much more than each other. He went on to tell me that because everyone escaped safely “they really haven't lost much”. I can't imagine it's that simple or that his family members don't feel a tremendous sense of loss but I was humbled by this young man's perspective and resilience towards the situation.
The meeting I attended today was a bit of a surprise. I arrived assuming there would be a more significant presence of UC ANR but only 1 panelist and no attendees, other than myself, were from UC ANR. One other panelist was from UC Davis, but that's it for UC presence. I need to investigate this a bit more given that I think we have much to offer this group of partners. Perhaps we aren't viewed that way.
When I was in New Orleans I attended a session that started with the moderator warning that ‘complacency and nostalgia are colleges' greatest enemies'. The session was offered by the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO). It was a fascinating session. The group surveyed the Presidents of public universities/colleges across the country. Presidents were asked if they felt that the public university/college would be financially sustainable in 10 years. The results: 67% of the Presidents felt that 4-year flagship institutions would be sustainable compared to only 25% of non-flagship universities/colleges and 93% of elite private colleges (endowments of over $1B). However, only 53% of the Presidents felt that their own institution would be sustainable in 10 years. For me, that statistic was a bit of an eye-opener. According to NACUBO the public university/college system, as a whole, needs to rethink how it conducts business. NACUBO started a project to assist campus business teams focus on ‘value centered management'. Not all units are expected to contribute the same; some units are generators while some are net consumers. Subvention, in the form of a 8.5% gross tax, ‘just is' as a recognized commitment to system financial health. Periodically a review and revision of the tax and subvention decisions occurs. The presenters shared that acceptance of this approach takes a bit of adjustment. I'm interested in learning more about the ‘success' observed by those institutions that hare part of the project. There may be something in this of use to UC ANR.