Thomas George on entrepreneurship: the outspoken chancellor of U Wisconsin-Stevens Point says rural publics must get `creative' to survive and prosper. (People & Politics).

How can comprehensive, state IHEs--so many of which are rural--find ways to strengthen themselves fiscally, in light of increased cutbacks by the states and a generally oppressive economic environment? In a recent discussion with Thomas F. George, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, we discovered that an entrepreneurial "spirit"--and some well-plotted regional initiatives--can make all the difference.

Chancellor George, do you see your institution as representative of the "typical" comprehensive state-supported university? As with most state university systems, the University of Wisconsin System has its flagship institution and numerous comprehensive institutions scattered throughout the state. When people outside of Wisconsin hear "the University of Wisconsin," the Madison campus usually comes to mind. However, those of us leading the 11 comprehensive campuses of the UW system would maintain that our institutions are as representative of what is today a "typical" state-supported institution of higher education: rural-based, and an engine of economic development with strong local, state, national, and international ties. UW-Stevens Point is a leading example of a rural, comprehensive institution that, in the face of waning state support, is seeking out and finding means by which we can both enhance our region's economy and enhance our fiscal strength. In 1972, we received over 50 percent of our operating budget from tax dollars. That figure is now 39 percent, as we've suffered cuts similar to those of other institutions around the country. And Wisconsin is struggling (as are Illinois, Indiana, and Minnesota, for example) with a large state structural budget deficit--that is, expenditures exceeding revenues--which we know will grow in the 2003-2005 biennium. In light of these trends, we have no reason to believe that we will receive a larger portion of our operating budget from state funding at any time in the future. Like our larger, research-based cousins at the doctoral level, as well as our peers in large urban settings, rural-based institutions such as UWSP are becoming more creative as we seek means to sustain and build our educational programs.

What does "more creative" mean?

Typically, institutions are raising tuition and raising money through private donations. The Arizona Board of Regents, for example, has implemented a tuition hike of 39 percent. Institutions nationwide are more aggressively implementing fundraising programs. Wisconsin is certainly no stranger to this two-sided practice. On the one hand, the UW system has raised tuition every year but one, over the last decade. On the other hand, campuses throughout the system are aggressively raising private dollars. Most recently, UW-Eau Claire announced a campaign to raise nearly $38 million, which has already had a very successful quiet phase. UWSP is gearing up for its most ambitious campaign ever. The result of declining state funding and rising support from tuition and donations is that public universities are having to become more creative in terms of fundraising, and more nimble and entrepreneurial in terms of developing self-sustaining and institution-supporting programs. While this is nothing new for private institutions, it is a relatively new experience for public institutions, especially comprehensive, non-doctoral universities like UWSP. Public institutions, even those in rural areas, are becoming a greater factor in the economic strength of states. Indeed, it is the rural-based institution such as UWSP that has such an important role to play in states" efforts to shore up their economic health.

Can you highlight UWSP initiatives along these lines?

An increasingly important component of UWSP's fundraising program is involvement at the college and even department level. Four years ago, our development efforts were essentially centralized. Since then, we have placed a development officer in each of our four colleges. At first, there was not overwhelming enthusiasm for this program. Why should the deans, department chairs, and even faculty be involved in fundraising, they wanted to know? But they agreed to test this new notion of active participation in development. The experiment has been a success: Between fiscal 2000 and 2002, the increase in fundraising in our four academic colleges has ranged from 27 to over 400 percent, and colleges are now able to place emphasis on raising dollars that are most essential to their unique programs. In addition, the college-based development officers have become critical partners in the deans' efforts to reach out to our wide, central Wisconsin community. This outreach will pay rich dividends in the future as our colleges expand their already-significant cultural and economic impact. What is most encouraging, though, is that some of our strongest college supporters have deep roots in our rural economy of agriculture and forestry. Such donors have not always supported higher education to this extent. This is changing as we successfully demonstrate our institution's value to our rural-based communities and economy.

What about federal dollars? Is there any way to be more creative in the pursuit of those funds?

Clearly, with state support declining, public institutions have bad to become more aggressive in the federal arena. There has long been the competition for federal research funding through competitive grant processes. However, the bulk of this support has traditionally gone to large research institutions. It is now time for institutions with teaching as their main focus--and often not based in large, urban areas--to compete more aggressively for federal support. UWSP has had success in this area, especially by working with legislators to raise the level of funding available through agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The College of Natural Resources at UWSP has been able to compete for and win substantial funding from EPA. Still, as important as raising private dollars and winning federal funding is for UWSP, much more important--and potentially having a greater impact--is the development of an entrepreneurial spirit. This was not so crucial for public institutions 20 years ago, but it is now. Throughout the Wisconsin system, campuses are embracing this entrepreneurial spirit.

What, exactly, constitutes an "entrepreneurial spirit"?

On our campus, this manifests itself through our efforts to develop partnerships with businesses, municipalities, and other educational institutions. Partnerships are a key theme in our strategic plan, which calls on UWSP to achieve a leadership position among public, comprehensive universities. Our vision, the Central Wisconsin Idea, emphasizes the cultural, social, and economic power of UWSP in a predominantly rural portion of our state. It has its foundation in the overarching Wisconsin Idea established in 1912 as a dedication of the University of Wisconsin to serve not just its students, but the entire state and beyond. In addition to developing partnerships, UWSP is cultivating technology transfer and increased contractual arrangements between faculty and area clients. In some cases, students working with faculty acquire practical experience through these consulting arrangements. Partnerships with business interests and other educational entities are the most visible undertakings. Visibility, we are finding, is critical to the success of our ventures as well as to acquiring additional partners and support. For example, with our home in Portage County, we have partnered with a technical college in nearby Wood County and with the Portage County Business Council, to establish the Wisconsin Learning Center located in the Portage County Business Park. With the help of federal funds, two computer-equipped rooms--one with full audio/video distance educational capabilities--have been constructed to serve a wide variety of educational needs of businesses in central Wisconsin, especially in the technology arena. And we have we embarked on the New Economy Workforce (NEW) Coalition, a partnership among UWSP, businesses in nearby Marathon County, and two other higher education institutions--a two-year college of the UW System and a technical college, both in Wausau (in Marathon County). Through the NEW Coalition, UWSP and its education partners offer business- and technology-related curricula to working adults in the Wausau area. Funding for the NEW Coalition comes from our business partners. Then too, we have been able to publicize and thus leverage the success of the NEW Coalition, to develop partnerships north of Wausau. These have resulted in federal funding and, more importantly, a role for UWSP in the economic development of a region in our state that has traditionally lagged behind southern, more urban Wisconsin communities in per capita earnings. And while our focus remains on central Wisconsin, we have even reached beyond our nation's borders to cultivate partnerships that will enhance the economic stability of our state, as well as our own institution. A prominent industry in central Wisconsin is paper processing. A major presence in this industry is Stora Enso Oy of Finland, which operates a subsidiary, Stora Enso North America (SENA), in central Wisconsin. In partnership with a local technical college, UWSP is providing educational services to nearly 6,000 SENA employees throughout Wisconsin. Through this partnership, we are cementing our very positive relationship with the Wisconsin Technical College System, educating a substantial group of working adults, and generating needed program revenue.

How important to UWSP is the added revenue generated by such educational services?

Faculty service to and consultation with the surrounding community-generating fees and providing experience for our students--is of growing importance at UWSP. For example, our Community Research Center (spearheaded by a faculty member in the Department of Sociology) has been collecting data for a county-based organization that studies low-income populations in our area. In addition, the Center surveyed area residents as part of an analysis of medical services in central Wisconsin. In each instance, students in our sociology program acquired valuable experience that will serve them well after graduation; an added benefit was the fees collected for these services.

Does distance education come into play in your educational outreach?

Yes--in fact, another facet of entrepreneurialism is identifying a target population that is not currently being well served by traditional curricular offerings. At UWSP, we have combined the concept of partnerships with distance education to establish our Collaborative Degree Program (CDP), which was the first of its kind in Wisconsin when it began in 1998. The CDP is a partnership of UWSP with two-year colleges located in nearby Marshfield (Wood County) and Marinette, and in Wausau, whereby a UWSP baccalaureate degree can be earned on a two-year campus. Essential to the success of the CDP is that it is self-sustaining through program revenue. What this means for us and for our partners is that we need to offer programming that serves the specific needs of our target students. Consequently, we offer degrees in business administration and general studies and will soon add a major in Web and digital media development. This does not mean, however, that the degree offerings do not adhere to the standards of the offerings on our home campus. A strong selling point of the CDP is that the academic rigor and standards are just as high as those of our traditional programs. That we are able to guarantee such rigor and standards--through our use of regular faculty--makes the CDP very attractive to potential students and employers; approximately half of all CDP students have their tuition paid by their employers. The CDP is especially geared to the rural area in which we are located, where commuting is not an option for many. Reception sites (located throughout our region) facilitate residents' ability to acquire a college education.

Will you be expanding the CDP and consultative programs?

As bad as budgets are now in many states including Wisconsin, the situation may worsen in the coming years. We are facing a $3.2 billion structural budget deficit in the coming biennium, which places the University of Wisconsin system in a very difficult position. On the one hand, we face additional cuts to our base budget; on the other hand, we are asked by state government leaders to help boost the state's economy. But UWSP's entrepreneurial spirit will mitigate the effects of further cuts and will help bring revenue to our institution while continuing to support our state's economy. Our Collaborative Degree Program will expand while faculty consultative work continues and grows through our proposed Economic Development Institute (EDI). The EDI will broaden the work of the Central Wisconsin Idea by providing service for fees, which will be reinvested in the programs of the Institute. In addition, we will have personnel working in our colleges with the sole purpose of identifying faculty with expertise that can be used by regional business concerns. Not only will this consultation bring in revenue, but more important, it will enhance our students' educational experience as many faculty consultants will employ students as interns and research assistants as they serve the institution's clients.

So, would you say these programs are directly linked to UWSP's survival in a brutal economic environment?

We look to the sorts of collaboration and consultation we have undertaken as a programmatic means of survival, and of ensuring funding for our core mission of educating recent high school graduates. But, more broadly, we would argue that institutions such as UWSP--that is, rural-based and publicly assisted--are able to become powerful engines of economic development. Whether it is through technology transfer or through consultative work, our faculty and students are discovering and disseminating new knowledge, which is being used to create jobs, and which will lead to a higher standard of living. This is especially true as our region--and others like it--become more linked with the national and global economy. In addition to Stora Enso Oy, we have seen our local railroad, Central Wisconsin, purchased by Canadian National Railway; Wausau Insurance has become part Liberty Mutual; and Sears has purchased Land's End, which has a major branch at the Portage County Business Park. The result of this increasing level of interconnection is that while we retain our rural character--which is why many people choose to live in central Wisconsin--we help drive economic development and enhance our institution's financial outlook. An irony of our declining reliance on public funding is that institutions such as ours will be more responsive to public needs as we seek to develop technology that will attract those in the private sector who will be interested in further development. By design, our consultation services will be geared to what the client base--that is, the public--is seeking, whether it is soil and water studies or analysis of lighting needs in an office development.

Finally, how will your faculty have to change, to accommodate these changes?

As our institutions become more responsive to the public, the role of our faculty will evolve accordingly. While we will not see a disappearance of the classroom instructor, we will more often see the faculty member who works closely with a smaller group of students in an internship or research environment. Our faculty will continue to be mentors to students, which will become even more important as they serve as team leaders in a consultative relationship with clients.