PoliBlog

If You've Got the Faculty, We've Got the Campus

The problem:

Amid the bounty in the desert, awash in golf courses and gated communities, the absence of a university was like a leak in the well, draining away what little youth the area had.

The grandchildren of Palm Desert's retirees, or the children of their maids and gardeners, would have to commute more than 120 dusty miles to the nearest university, and too few bothered to make the trip. Those who did go away rarely came back.

[...]

The valley desperately needs to train teachers for its young and nurses for its old, two academic focal points for the new university.

Without higher education, the area's tremendous growth has been asymmetrical, perpetuating its reliance on tourism and inhibiting the development of other industries that seek a more specialized, professional work force. To rectify that, the university also emphasizes business, accounting and entrepreneurship.

The solution:

"I invited the former Cal State chancellor to come down. I think he thought it would be a private meeting between us, but I had about 75 business leaders there to greet him," Mr. Oliphant said, chuckling over the ambush. "I told him, `What if I donated a campus to you, lock, stock and barrel? Would you furnish a staff?' At first, he thought it was a joke. No one had ever donated a whole campus before."

Source: Private Gifts Bring a Public College to Town