Our View: Keeping up on upkeep is a priority

President Stan Albrecht was right on when he told members of the Cache Chamber of Commerce that the improvement of facilities will continue to be a priority at Utah State University, even in the face of declining enrollment.

Making sure that key buildings on campus such as housing and libraries are state of the art allows USU to compete for the best of Utah’s students, as well as those from out of state.

It is common knowledge in the world of business that you have to spend money to make money. USU was hit hard first by HB 331 and then by subsequent drops in enrollment. With all that missing money due to all those missing students, it may not seem frugal to be spending millions of dollars on a new library.

But it is exactly these kind of improvements that will entice students back to USU, especially if we can offer facilities or programs schools in surrounding states can’t.

We applaud the USU administration for keeping improvements student centered and at the top of the priority list. Many factors play into the rise or fall of enrollment so solutions are rarely clearly manifest.

President Albrecht has taken a creative approach to fixing this problem and we have been impressed with the level of involvement he has personally put into such initiatives like the Road Scholars Tour. His involvement proves his dedication to the university. It also proves he is well aware that students are the foundation of success at institutions of higher learning and that falling enrollment impacts all aspects of a university – from housing to the number of faculty to research.

Presidents can leave legacies that reach beyond their time in office, and we believe the improvements Albrecht has supported will be benefitting students long after all of us have graduated.