Are We Wasting a Perfectly Good Crisis?

It's difficult for a SCUP staff member to find time to attend concurrent sessions, I was able to enjoy two of them this year, each of them about strategic planning.

I was not able to attend the session — Are We Wasting a Perfectly Good Crisis? — presented by George P. Pernsteiner, chancellor of the Oregon University system. Luckily, Scott Carlson captured the session for The Chronicle of Higher Education:

So how will higher education solve them? Some colleges have focused on cutting costs around the edges. Mr. Pernsteiner said he had read about institutions that hoped to save money by, say, doing away with office phones. (Because everyone carries a cell phone, he floated the idea to his own staff, he said, but it was not popular.) On many campuses, including his own, trash is picked up less often, and lawns are mowed and watered less frequently. "Sometimes we call that sustainability, but really we are trying to cut costs," Mr. Pernsteiner joked. "But is that going to get us through the crisis successfully? Can you cut your way to success?" he said. "I don't think you can."

Full article here.