Published: September 25, 2009 07:14 pm         

Tribune-Star Editorial: Colleges’ collaboration benefits Valley

Presence of four higher education institutions bodes well for future

During a question-and-answer panel last week for the Associated Press Managing Editors of Indiana, the four leaders of this area’s colleges and universities were asked if their community appreciates the value of their institutions.

All four men said they did believe many people understand the economic and cultural significance of the presence of Indiana State University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, St. Mary-of-the-Woods College and the Wabash Valley Region of Ivy Tech Community College. But, as ISU president Dan Bradley pointed out, the kind of longevity required to become “an institution” naturally leads to sometimes being taken for granted.

Listening to Bradley and his counterparts — St. Mary-of-the-Woods president David Behrs, Rose-Hulman interim president Matt Branam and Ivy Tech chancellor Jeff Pittman — discuss their shared commitment to higher education and the Terre Haute metro area was a powerful reminder of just how fortunate we are to have these folks in our midst.

Despite our four post-secondary education institutions, most of us don’t tend to think of Terre Haute (and by extension West Terre Haute with the Woods) as a bona fide college town. We think of the manufacturing that was, the retail corridor that is struggling through a recession, the businesses and corporations we might attract, the hospitals that are expanding services, and the city’s pass-through position on Interstate 70 and U.S. 41. But when is the last time you heard someone say, “Terre Haute, it’s a college town”?

By guiding their respective institutions to pull in the same direction for the good of higher education, Bradley, Behrs, Pittman and Branam pull for the good of this community. They are collaborating, not competing, which benefits them and us.

Equally good news is, like the health care industry, higher education as a growth endeavor is not about the past but the future. Economic and cultural trends may come and go, but the delivery of a college education is likely never to become obsolete. With four fine delivery systems in this community, we need to recognize and celebrate that largesse.