College and its graduates look toward future

May 8, 2005

The spring "graduation season" began Friday night when 87 students from Mat-Su College received their diplomas.

The college awarded mostly associates' degrees, but, emblematic of its growth with the community, it also awarded three bachelors' degrees and even one master's degree.

Suzanne Allen represented the class of 2005 as its commencement speaker. She credited the faculty for its work in preparing students for graduation. It is preparation that will take the class of 2005 far beyond Friday night's ceremony.

Allen also represents Mat-Su College's "typical" student. According to University of Alaska President Mark Hamilton, the average demographic profile of an MSC student is: female, about 29 years old, mother of two children. These so-called "nontraditional" students - ones who don't start college right out of high school - benefit greatly from the convenience of the local campus.

More important, though, is the benefit the state and the community get from the trained workers the college turns out. Indeed, MSC Director Paul Dauphinais said Allen "personifies the mission of this college."

President Hamilton put that mission in the context of the larger university system. Speaking to a Frontiersman editorial board Friday afternoon, Hamilton said the role of the university is "to respond to the needs of the state of Alaska" by training Alaskans for Alaska jobs.

It's hard to argue with that, especially as the state seems poised on the threshold of another oil and gas boom. It is likewise hard to imagine that significant economic growth of any kind can be realized in this state without a committed partnership with the university.

While we share Allen's appreciation of the faculty, it is more than teachers who contribute to the success of Mat-Su College and the university as a whole. As a public institution, it relies, first and foremost, on public interest in its operation. In practical terms, "public interest" is measured in dollars, particularly the ones that the Legislature agrees to send to the university system each year.

It is easy to criticize education funding. It is not easy, however, to think about life without a quality system of education. And the kind of quality that ensures a substantial payback to the state in the form of productive and well-trained workers does not come cheaply.

There has been much talk lately of the borough's desire to see the local college converted to a four-year institution. Everyone, it seems, thinks it is a worthwhile goal.

But it is not an endeavor that can be simply wished into reality. It will take a huge investment just to put the organizational infrastructure in place. Before that investment can be made, however, Mat-Su voters will have to make it clear to their legislators, not heretofore known for showering the university with funding, that this is a priority.

We wish Mat-Su College's class of 2005 all the best as it moves into the future. It is a future, we hope, that will include a vibrant and vital university system and a local branch campus that continues to grow and produce graduates who contribute positively to the progress of the community and the state.