Once a year, Marlene Cox opens her living room to 50 community members to experience a combination of vaudevillian and variety show favorites and originals inspired by stage’s golden era.
Alum troubled by WOUâs leadership
While itâs been frustrating to read, I appreciate The Itemizer-Observerâs coverage of Western Oregon Universityâs struggles of late. As an alum, Iâm greatly disturbed by the lack of leadership in Monmouth.
Yes, the pandemic forced program and staffing cuts. The problems, however, were pre-pandemic. An OPB article reported that from 2011 to today, WOU has dropped 25% in enrollment. This is inexcusable. In that same period of time, the state of Oregon grew from 3.87 million people to 4.28 million, nearly a 400,000 increase â yet WOU is decreasing.
WOU doesnât need to become an impersonal, large university. Itâs strength is its small setting with excellent faculty-to-student interaction. But a steady enrollment climb is needed for the survival and strength of the school. Iâm surprised after a decade of declines that the university didnât hit a crisis point years ago, revamping how they are recruiting