Privatize OUS? Not So Fast!

First Let’s Pass 66 & 67, Then We’ll Talk

Should the Legislature consider allowing the Oregon Board of Higher Ed to take the three largest campuses in the state’s public university system private?

Not so fast, SEIU 503 members say, and maybe not at all. But first things first. Let’s pass Measures 66 & 67 Jan. 26 or the system will be in worse financial shape.

In an advisory to more than 4,000 classified workers on the seven Oregon University System campuses, SEIU Local 503 responded to a report prepared for the Board by former University of Oregon President Dave Frohnmeyer urging immediate legislative action

“The report accurately outlines the problems public higher education faces in Oregon,” the advisory noted. “As SEIU members know well, colleges have been faced with declining revenues and increasing student populations for the past 20 years, making it harder and harder to effectively serve students.

“Unfortunately the report reaches a preordained conclusion, recommending that the state allow the OUS Board to convert UO, OSU and PSU into semi-autonomous public corporations like Oregon Health & Sciences University._

“This concept was raised seven years ago and may seem like an idea whose time has passed given the recent financial problems at OHSU. Its implications are dramatic for students, faculty, workers and the public at large. Which is why we all will have to be involved in a conversation that considers all solutions before any change is made.”

U of O SEIU 503 President Lois Yoshishige, who works in the university’s business affairs office, echoed those sentiments in a letter to the Eugene Register Guard.

As a longtime worker at the University of Oregon I can attest firsthand to many of Dave Frohnmeyer’s points about the impact of inadequate funding,” Yoshishige wrote, “but I do not necessarily buy his conclusion that taking the U of O private will address the basic issue and I think it might make matters even worse for students, employees and the general public.__

“Our vision should be an affordable and accessible competitive public university system that serves al Oregonians. How we accomplish that will necessarily involve careful consideration and input from a great many sources, including frontline workers like me…and, in any event, two months may not be enough time to even set the agenda let alone reach a considered conclusion.”

The union also pointed to wider stakeholder involvement.

“While the report calls for the Legislature to take up this issue in February,” the advisory noted, “we believe that there is little support in Salem -- or even in the university hierarchy -- to do that. We expect the conversation about how we fund and structure a system of higher education that meets the needs of Oregonians will continue over the next two years and that front-line staff will be involved.

“We are convening the Higher Ed Council in December to develop a plan to identify changes needed, find solutions and give our members a voice in the coming debate. In addition, we are meeting with students, faculty and other allies to develop joint strategies for higher education in Oregon.

“In the meantime, we have important work to do between now and January 26 to ensure that Measures 66 and 67 pass so we can protect existing funding for higher education and public services. Measures 66 and 67 provide $40 million in funding for higher education; these measures are the first step to finding a long-term solution to the crisis in higher education.”

More recent news about State/University workers