College presidents discuss education
COEUR d'ALENE — A dialogue on higher education was served with bacon and eggs Tuesday morning at the Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce Upbeat Breakfast.
More than 100 people were at The Coeur d'Alene Resort to hear updates from North Idaho College President Joe Dunlap, Lewis-Clark State College President J. Anthony Fernandez and University of Idaho President Chuck Staben. The breakfast — a popular networking event held each month, sponsored this February by Kootenai Health — was the first time all three college presidents have gathered in one location to address business leaders in Coeur d'Alene.
"While it would be a pleasure to welcome any one of these, to have all three together at one time represents just how important North Idaho has become to higher education," said Rocky Owens, a member of the chamber's education committee. "With all due respect to our good friends in Boise, that is, the Broncos: move over. The Warriors, Vandals and Cardinals are alive and well in North Idaho."
Dunlap focused his remarks on what he called one of the college's two primary missions: career and technical education that prepare individuals to go to work after two years of college. North Idaho College has paid a lot of attention to its other mission of preparing students to transfer to a four-year university, Dunlap said, but over the last three years has started 17 new technical and career programs in areas like forestry and health care.
A new technical education facility located next to the Kootenai Technical Education campus in Rathdrum is one step the college is taking to train the upcoming workforce, Dunlap said. The 110,000-square-foot facility will be completed this spring, with classes starting in the fall.
"What that does is it provides individuals from KTEC the opportunity to earn credit and get basic certificates before walking across the street to pursue advanced certificates and degrees," Dunlap said. "And all of their work from KTEC will transfer over into our nine programs. It's a spectacular facility."
A joint-use facility, the fruits of a collaboration between all three institutions, will be built on NIC's campus as well, Dunlap said. The facility will include classrooms, labs, and a consolidated student service center.
Fernandez discussed the importance of collaboration when planning the future of higher education in North Idaho. Lewis-Clark State College, he said, is joined at the hip with NIC and the University of Idaho to provide "the kind of education we think Idaho needs."
"An educated workforce is good for business and it's good for the state," Fernandez added.
According to Fernandez, 23 percent of adults in Kootenai County over the age of 25 hold a bachelor's degree.
"We can do better," Fernandez said in conclusion. "We can bring it up to where it's needed for the jobs in this area."
Staben told the crowd that the estimated economic impact of the University of Idaho is $1.1 billion. Just one of the ways the university serves the state, he added, is collaborating with partners such as NIC and Lewis-Clark State College.
The new joint-use facility will mark a new chapter in the relationship between the institutions, Staben said, and will compliment the city of Coeur d'Alene's plans for the future. One example of the university's service to the community, he added, is in its integrated approach to computer sciences.
"Everything from the data programs and coding camps for young people, professional development for K-12 teachers in teaching computer science locally, to working with NIC to get students in a two-year degree following that up with a four-year degree from the University of Idaho," Staben said. "We're pleased to have the support of the Coeur d'Alene community."