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On March 31 Ohio Chancellor Eric Fingerhut is scheduled to unveil his proposed changes to how our state's higher education system prepares students for the jobs of today and tomorrow. These changes may prove to be the most significant single development in reshaping the region's economic future.
Chanellor Fingerhut dropped some big hints regarding what he plans to recommend in a recent speech in Akron.
An Akron Beacon Journal editorial written after his remarks said of Chancellor Fingerhut:
He rightly stressed that the four public universities in Northeast Ohio must end their squabbling and unproductive competition. They must differentiate and cooperate — or risk continuing a ''zero-sum'' game in which the ultimate losers are the people living here.
The chancellor argued persuasively that without such an approach, Ohio will fail to increase substantially its puny percentage of adults with at least an associate's degree. It will fail to become sufficiently competitive in the global, knowledge economy.
In a news story, Fingerhut's plan was described this way:
The plan will be a road map to build higher education in Ohio and boost the state's economy, he said. Parts of it will require the support of the Ohio General Assembly and infusions of money from the state, foundations, donations and more.
His ideas included:
Assuring that associate and bachelor's degree programs are within 30 miles of every Ohioan;
Making the state's tuition among the lowest in the nation;
And encouraging Ohio's colleges and universities to develop ''centers of excellence'' that spotlight their strengths while meeting the needs of the state.
Fingerhut said his proposals will build on the January report issued by the Northeast Ohio Universities Collaboration and Innovation Study Commission.
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