The bus' roles in advanced learning and collaborative grants
Nils Peterson
I am a clinical associate professor at WSU, living in Moscow, and
I would like to make some points regarding the possible
suspension of commuter bus service between University of Idaho
and Washington State University.
The commuter bus service implicitly supports joint research
between UI and WSU. It is clear that bus service throughout the
day makes joint research more attractive, and implicitly helps in
bringing in such grants. Researchers, postdocs, and students can
move freely between the campuses, attend meetings and classes,
and teach at either university. A cursory inspection shows that,
over the last ten years, roughly $8.4 million has come to WSU
through UI via joint grants. This is the money WSU has received
as a "subcontractor" to UI, so it certainly understates joint
grant money going to both institutions. But it looks as if joint
grant income between UI and WSU over this period must be at least a
hundred times the annual budget for the commuter bus.
I can give a different, specific, example of how the commuter bus
bolsters the local academic community---in a way that again might
not be apparent on the surface. Ten graduate students from UI
enrolled in my graduate physics class at WSU this term. These
students are not "visible" to WSU (I grade them entirely within
the UI system). But in a high-level class, bringing in more
advanced students not only provides an opportunity for them, it
enriches the course for all students. The commuter bus,
especially for graduate students, is essential to making this
happen.
Fred Gittes
Moscow, ID