City to talk relocation with Gutenberg

The city council has weighed in on Gutenberg College making Sisters its new home. A suggestion by councilman Lon Kellstrom backed by Mayor Brad Boyd and the rest of the council members last week instructed City Manager Eileen Stein to contact Gutenberg College and inform them that the city will do what it can to assist them in the land use process.

Gutenberg College, a four-year college currently in the accreditation process, has a Christian basis, though it is not technically a Christian school, as it has no church affiliation.

Gutenberg advocates a biblical world view supporting the philosophy that "the strength of the Christian world view becomes most apparent when it can hold its own in the marketplace of ideas."

The college's impact on Sisters could be considerable, both economically and socially.

Last Friday, a delegation from Gutenberg College spent the day in Sisters continuing their evaluation of the community as a location for its future campus. One of the group's stops was at the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce.

"They wanted to know if there were jobs in the area for their students, many of whom would be interested in working in the area," said Cheryl Mills, the chamber's executive director.

"I think the addition of 50 college students would be a wonderful asset to Sisters. They would contribute a freshness and youth to the community, as well as providing a welcome addition to the workforce which would be very welcome by most area businesses," said Councilor Kellstrom.

Councilor Bill Merrill had met the initial fact finding team and heard that they were looking at Sisters as a potential location for the new campus. He said, "I don't know why they have decided to look at Sisters, but they would certainly be welcome here. It would be a real asset to the community."

It is not just the adults of the area that are expressing interest in the idea of having a college in Sisters.

"We have been talking about it at home and I am really excited that we could have a college here. I would like to go to college here in Sisters after I graduate from high school. That would be really fun," said nine-year-old Natalie Schilperoort.

Not everyone is welcoming. Some in Sisters have expressed concern about the college's doctrinal foundation and what they perceive as a rigid and exclusionary Christian outlook (see Letters to the Editor, page 2).

The student population of Gutenberg is "...split about half-and-half with students that have come directly from high school and those that have been out in the world for a few years and are returning for an education and are in their mid to late twenties," said David Crabtree, the college's president.

Currently, Gutenberg's student population has a slight Oregon bias; however, there are also students from around the country and two foreign students. Crabtree is in hopes that the school will attract more foreign students as it would enrich diversity.

Not all the students are practicing Christians.

"About half the students are what you would consider strong Christians and half are those that perhaps are a little disillusioned and looking for some answers. We find that provides a good mix for our educational philosophy," said Crabtree.

Although the city councilors are supportive of bringing the college to Sisters, some caution was expressed about logistics.

"I am concerned about housing for the students. We don't have much in the way of affordable housing here," said Sharlene Weed, city councilor. Weed did acknowledge that if there was enough of a demand to create a niche, someone would likely step forward to fill it.

"I would guess that if there is not enough housing initially in Sisters for the college students that some might decide to live in Redmond and commute," said Mills.

"But if there becomes a strong need for student housing, someone will build apartments or perhaps even the college may decide to build a dormitory. Of course, apartments would be better in many ways for Sisters since there is a shortage of reasonably-priced apartments and that would really help by providing more places for local workers to live."

A soft real estate market could benefit as well from the influx of college staff, many of whom will eventually purchase here.

"One of our concerns is if there is adequate housing available for our tutors and other college staff. From our initial checking it does appear that there is a selection of homes that could meet the needs," said Crabtree.

Although college officials continue to examine Sisters as a potential location for their campus, it remains to be seen if Sisters will be the final choice.

"We have property in Coburg and had intended to build there. But Sisters is an interesting possibility and we need to weigh all the possibilities. A big factor for us is whether or not there is community support for the college here," said Peter Wierenga, Gutenberg's provost.

Do you think Gutenberg College would be a good addition to Sisters? Let The Nugget know at http://www.nuggetnews.com or e-mail [email protected]