SIUC Spring attendance down 3.7% from spring 20202, although 85% of freshmen returned. Fall returns and applications are "promising" but they have been promising every year since 1991. Do I know how to fix it? No. I do think SIUC took advantage of a couple of factors to build growth that the university has proven unable to replicate today:
1. Long term vision--Delyte Morris headed the university for about 3 decades
2. GI Bill . The GI bill meant lots of returning vets could and did attended college and SIUC recruited lots of them.
3. International studnets--SIUC was an early recruiter of international students. Now every university goes after them
Yes, true but don't forget the gradual decline that began with Poshard. Also, who would want to go to a University whose President was convicted of (inadvertent?) plagiarism and whose Board of Trustees allowed him to remain? The Cheng and Montemagno disasters accelerated the process so there are other recent factors to consider.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion, and I have no evidence of this, is that, because of his connections, the BOT desperately wanted to keep Poshard and used "Inadvertent plagiarism" as a justification to do so.
ReplyDeleteHe was appointed for his political connections in the hope that he would use his Springfield connections to bring big bucks to Carbondale. It did not happen and he used his political connections to stay in office. He was really a failed politician with no higher education experience and proved a disaster both for SIUC and the Carbondale community. Also, the factors you cited in your post apply 70 years ago but not for the recent decades that witnessed SIUC's decline. Would any court of law excuse "inadvertent" homicide, drunken driving, domestic violence etc, etc?
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