The IFS last met October 6-7 on the campus of Oregon Institute of Technology. For several of us, it was our first opportunity to visit OIT and to enjoy its beautiful campus and marvel at the area's spectacular setting. We were graciously hosted, and we all had a fine time in Klamath Falls. Thank you again, President Dow.

Our Friday meeting began with visits from two people here in the room today: a greeting and welcome from President Dow and a conversation with Board Member Shawn Hempel. In both cases, the Small University Initiative with regard to an adjustment of the budget model was discussed, as was the mixed blessing of enrollment growth and assorted other topics. The bulk of the remainder of the afternoon was spent in conversation with the four local candidates for State Senate and House seats, one of whom avidly supports Ballot Measure 8 as what he calls "prudent economics." We then toured portions of OIT's radiography and magnetic imaging facilities - - and were suitably impressed.

Our business meeting on Saturday included many of our standard topics, as well as new ones such as: workers' rights organizations; faculty grievance procedures; the rightful political freedoms and protections of faculty as employees; and the progress of proposals for the Central Oregon branch campus. We also continue our interest, of course, in monitoring the operation of the new budget model, especially at its end-phase of revenue return to departments which have carried the burden of enrollment increase. Brief announcements of special interest included: changes in General Education requirements at EOU; OHSU's absorption of the Oregon Graduate Institute; and a new Urban Center at PSU. We meet next in early December at Oregon Health Sciences University.

Since the annual event known as the World Series begins tomorrow, I thought I might try out a few parallels between baseball and higher education. For example, baseball just concluded its ALCS: American League Championship Series. We have our own ALCS: Academic Learning Creates Success. In baseball it's "three strikes and you're out" and three outs and the inning is over. In college, if you make a "3-point" you may qualify for honors, or even for graduate school. In baseball, the players spend lots of their time spitting and scratching. In college, the professors spend lots of their time sitting and hatching - - hatching new ideas, research projects, discoveries to benefit humankind. In baseball, large numbers of fans come to the same place to make lots of noise and drink ample quantities of beer. Sometimes in college, large numbers of students come to the same place to make lots of noise and drink ample quantities of beer. In baseball, some rabid fan can run onto the field and disrupt the whole game until the authorities apprehend him and evict him. In college, some rabid non-fan can run a handful of ballot measures onto the field and disrupt the game until the voters apprehend him and evict him. I leave you to try out other comparisons on your own, perhaps involving stolen bases, designated hitters, or bullpen relief specialists.

In one major respect, of course, the parallel isn't parallel at all. In college, a professor can work selflessly and productively for thirty years and still have an annual salary below $50,000. In baseball, the average player salary in 1999 was $1,606,770. It would take that same professor 201 years to match what Bernie Williams of the New York Yankees made last year alone [$9,857,143]. In fact, all eight of our OUS Presidents combined would have to work for seven years to accrue one year's worth of Roger Clemens' salary. But, of course, none of them have pitched a one-hitter lately, and what, after all, is more important to the society: educational leadership, or ball-throwing? In 1999, there were no fewer than 348 major league players being paid a million dollars a year or more. I doubt seriously that there are professors anywhere in the world with salaries to match that. If there are, I can assure you that none of them work in Oregon.

So what's my point? Not that academics should be paid the same as professional athletes, heaven forbid, even if their contributions to the society are of considerably greater quality and substance. I dare say nobody here in the room makes Roger Clemens' salary, to say nothing of Greg Maddux's $10,600,000 per year. Nor do I wish to suggest that we should all take up chewing tobacco or sunflower seeds or bubble gum (which, when you think about it, are rather curious accompaniments to extreme wealth). I'm not even sure we should care very much at all about a World Series featuring two teams from New York City, when we all know it should have been Seattle and San Francisco; it's pretty likely that the 7th-ranked Duck football team will get more viewing time tomorrow from most of us. If there is a serious point to my comparison, it is simply that we have a very respectable team of our own right here that we can be proud of and enjoy. We have players who can hold their own with any other league in talent and work effort. We have skilled and devoted management at work behind the scenes. We may play in parks that could stand some expansion and updating, and we may make an occasional error. But most of us are in good condition, we have more than respectable batting averages, we defend well against our opponents, and we can hit one out of the park now and then. Right now, it's the bottom of the ninety-first in extra innings, and the unofficial score card shows us a few runs behind. But, if we pull together, we can rally, we can overcome, and we can remain champions. Go Giants! Go Mariners! Wait till next year!

Gary H. Tiedeman Professor and Chair Department of Sociology Fairbanks 306 Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 97331-3703 541-737-5383 FAX: 737-5372 E-mail: GTiedeman@orst.edu