First year as USU President-Albrecht’s influence
Seven years into Stan Albrecht’s career at USU, his mark can be seen all over the University.
As dean of the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, he established the Dean’s Advancement Council to find ways to develop the College and helped with plans for a new recital hall (dedicated in January).
During his four years as provost, he enhanced opportunities for women at USU and saw the appointment of a few of the University’s strong women administrators: Noelle Cockett, dean of the College of Agriculture and vice president for University Extension, Carol Strong, dean of the College of Education and Human Services, and Caryn Beck-Dudley, former dean of the College of Business.
Since taking the role of president in February 2005, President Albrecht has worked on increasing enrollment, expanding USU’s academic reach, and bringing more funding to the University.
Enrollment
Falling enrollment and rising tuition have been a concern for University administrators and students for the past few years. Albrecht established the Road Scholars tour, a program that travels to cities in Utah and Idaho to recruit high school graduates, and lobbied the State Legislature for 400 tuition waivers for out-of-state students. This year, he said, the freshman class is up almost 20 percent. Overall, the University is up 38 percent.
Not only are out-of-state and freshman enrollment numbers up, graduate student and international student enrollment is increasing, he said. But the problem isn’t fixed yet, he said.
“It’s not going to be fixed in one year. It’s not just one year of a stronger freshman class,” he said. “It will take several years.”
Expanding USU’s reach
Albrecht said he has also overseen the advancement of the Utah Science, Technology and Research initiative (USTAR), which he said will allow USU and the University of Utah to play more important roles in fueling the state’s economy. USTAR is meant to strengthen the state’s research institutions and increase the number of high-tech jobs in Utah, through State Senate Bill 192, which set aside funding for USU and the U of U to do research and promote economic development.
The school’s influence isn’t being felt just through USTAR. Small “satellite campuses” around the state allow “place-bound” students to get a bachelor’s degree from the University without attending the main campus. More than 17,000 students go to school in Logan, and Albrecht said there are another 20,000 attending USU through distance education.
“We’re strengthening the system,” he said. “We’re still working on this regional campus model and establishing partnerships with other Utah schools.” He said most land-grant universities have a satellite campus system.
Plans in the making
In a few weeks the University will be announcing its first comprehensive fund-raising campaign. Gathering enough money to support the school and its projects continues to be a concern for Albrecht.
“There’s a need for money for students,” he said. “We need more need-based dollars.”
The money raised will go to better facilities, funding research and hiring and retaining faculty.
“We attract really good faculty,” Albrecht said. “Then they get a few years in and they’re doing good work and they become attracted to other universities.”
As part of the effort to raise funds, USU has used Tier II tuition for the past several years. Tier I tuition is set by the state, while Tier II is set individually by the universities, and may or may not be implemented by the administration. Albrecht said-with a solid “Yes,”-tuition will level off when enrollment goes back up. Eventually, he said, he hopes to not have to charge students Tier II tuition.
“The students have been enormously helpful because of their support of the Tier II tuition. We’re a better University because of it,” Albrecht said. “One of the trends we are seeing is we’re taking the ‘public’ out of ‘public education’. We are not going to see the state step up and take responsibility for tuition.”
A new agricultural sciences building is one of the next projects on Albrecht’s list. The building will be constructed where the old Merrill Library once was, and it will be one of the most expensive buildings in higher education, Albrecht said. Other construction projects include a new engineering lab, renovations on the football stadium and a memorial for the van accident that killed nine people Sept. 26, 2005.