I hate being the skunk at the picnic, but why all the talk about a four-year “university?” Everyone is excited, but no one is explaining why statewide taxpayers and local residents should spend $111 million — the latest estimate — to build a campus in Bend. And whatever happened to the campus in Juniper Ridge? Is that campus no longer part of the master plan?

First, let’s get the terminology correct.

College classes are offered by academic departments; e.g. calculus by the mathematics department or Shakespeare by the English department.

A college is a cluster of departments associated with a broad academic interest: arts and sciences, education or engineering. Colleges offer four-year undergraduate degrees — bachelor’s in art or science — and sometimes postgraduate degrees — master’s in art or science, and perhaps doctorates — in major academic fields. Colleges can be standalone institutions, like Reed College in Portland, or one of several colleges making up a university, either undergraduate and postgraduate or postgraduate only.

Generally, a true university consists of two or more colleges, offers postgraduate studies leading to a Ph.D. and has a serious commitment to conducting research. Massachusetts, by law, requires a school to offer two doctorate degrees to be called a university. Thus, the University of Oregon, Oregon State University and Portland State University are true universities; Western, Eastern and Southern Oregon universities and the Oregon Institute of Technology are not. Oregon State University-Cascades Campus is not a university, except by affiliation with OSU in Corvallis. Technically, it isn’t even a college, because it offers only upper-division coursework for degrees in a smattering of academic fields — e.g., biology but no chemistry, physics or mathematics.

Before we spend $111 million to build a new campus, we should ask: What are we trying to accomplish?

Some say Central Oregon needs a four-year college to allow local young people to earn a degree here rather than go elsewhere. Unfortunately, Oregon already has more college campuses than it can support adequately and cannot afford a campus in every community wanting one. Several existing campuses are struggling with shrinking budgets and declining enrollment. Adequate funding for OSU-Cascades will always be a challenge.

Some believe a university will enrich the community intellectually and culturally. Perhaps, but beware! A campus of 5,000 students can transform a small community like Bend from fiscally conservative and socially moderate to across-the-board leftist. If you doubt me, look at what happened to Santa Cruz, Calif., after the University of California opened its campus nearby. A quaint, artsy beach and surfing tourist town became Berkeley on the Bay. Is that what Central Oregon wants to become?

Some say a university will attract business. I am skeptical. Four Oregon cities have “universities:” Klamath Falls (OIT), La Grande (EOU), Monmouth (WOU) and Ashland (SOU). Not one of these towns has experienced significant business growth attributable to their local colleges.

Furthermore, let’s say Central Oregon advertises it has a “university.” Business visitors come and discover OSU-Cascades offers few undergraduate degrees and no doctorates, does little or no research and has no campus library of its own — “sharing” the library at the community college miles away. Will visitors think local officials allowed civic pride to exaggerate things? What happens to the community’s credibility?

What is the opportunity cost to the rest of the community of raising $1 million to $4 million for OSU-Cascades? Even if half of the $4 million is new money that wouldn’t be donated elsewhere, the remaining $2 million would not be available to St. Charles, or the United Way or other local charities. With double-digit unemployment and barely noticeable economic growth, can this community raise such huge sums and still support the local agencies? Who believes that?

To spur growth in the local economy, we don’t need another general-purpose college or university like all the others. We need a school focused on STEM — science, technology, engineering, mathematics — and business. Next month, this skunk — with a Bachelor of Arts in English, 1971 — will offer ideas for such a school.