Like it or not, politics is sure to play a major role in the arrival of a branch campus in Central Oregon.

Although two of the state’s most familiar rivals Oregon State University and the University of Oregon are waging public relations campaigns in their bids to create the state’s first branch here, the winner will also be watching the state Legislature to ensure funding for the branch remains in the 2001-03 budget.

Used to competing over students, research dollars and even football, neither UO nor OSU is leaving much to chance in their bids to create a branch in Central Oregon, the first in state history.

Both have released proposals detailing how they would add upper division courses at Central Oregon Community College so students could earn bachelor’s degrees locally.

And now, from full-page ads and inserts in The Bulletin and other newspapers to radio and television spots and even country club luncheons, the universities are spending thousands on public relations campaigns in Central Oregon, across the state and even in the halls of the Capitol lobbying for the branch sponsor job.

”We’ve tried to continue to explain our proposal and why we think it’s superior,” said OSU President Paul Risser, after meeting with lawmakers last week.

Although OSU’s lobbying efforts have attracted more attention recently, the schools say they are doing little more than their annual student recruitment campaigns in Central Oregon, which has the dual effect of promoting the schools at the very time the OSU-vs.-UO branch debate continues.

In some respects, the campaigns have worked. Few residents or lawmakers are unfamiliar with the basics of the plans UO’s focus on a liberal arts and sciences curriculum and OSU’s emphasis on engineering and applied technology.

And judging from the number of back-and-forth letters to the editor and opinion pieces by alumni lobbying for their alma maters, interest in the branch remains high in Central Oregon.

Yet, the effect of all the lobbying largely remains to be seen. And in at least one instance, the political spin doctoring may have actually backfired.

Last month, one of the 11 members of the State Board of Higher Education openly criticized OSU for a letter sent to school alumni that, he said, mischaracterized UO’s branch proposal.

In a letter to other state board members and to an influential local advisory board, Jim Lussier noted a perceived effort by OSU to politicize the branch selection process. It was OSU, Lussier said, ”that sent out a biased and inaccurate letter comparing the two proposals, which I found degrading to both institutions.”

In that letter and in advertisements, OSU said it would offer 25 bachelor’s and 11 master’s degrees to UO’s three. In fact, UO is proposing roughly 20 bachelor’s and eight master’s degrees if degrees from partnering institutions are counted which OSU does for itself, but not for UO.

”If we counted degrees the same way OSU does, we would actually have about 27 bachelor’s and 11 master’s degrees,” said UO Provost John Moseley. ”It’s really just a game.”

OSU also implies it would use only three administrators to UO’s 12, although the administrative structures in the two proposals are very similar. The difference: OSU counts only the three top administrators at the branch and not the kinds of department heads it counted when tallying the number of UO’s administrators.

”We went with what was in their plans, but the numbers have changed,” OSU’s Risser said. ”There was absolutely never any attempt to misrepresent. Still, we do feel there are fundamental differences.”

Ultimately, most observers agree Central Oregon would be well-served by either OSU or UO. But whether either school gets the opportunity to set up a branch campus is not a certainty.

Not including $7.2 million in start-up funds for the branch and $20 million earmarked for statewide engineering programs, Gov. John Kitzhaber’s 2001-03 budget for higher education is $96 million below the level required to maintain current services.

”That’s not great news for anybody,” said Oregon University System Chancellor Joe Cox.

And it gets worse. Last week, state Rep. Ben Westlund, R-Tumalo, co-chair of the powerful joint Ways and Means Committee, announced the possibility of a $200 million revenue shortfall resulting from pessimistic May forecasts.

The lackluster higher education budget and projected shortfall means the real fight may not be over who creates the branch, but if it’s created at all.

”If it’s going to happen, it’ll happen this session,” Westlund said. ”We have in our favor the legitimacy of the public policy and experienced legislators. This is my number one priority. But there are no guarantees that a Central Oregon branch campus happens. It will be a struggle.”

In such a tight fiscal year, the question begs to be asked: Does one school have a better chance than the other of attracting legislative approval?

Westlund said while there is general support for a branch, neither school has emerged with an edge in political muscle, a thought echoed by Sen. Bev Clarno, R-Redmond, who also sits on the Ways and Means Committee.

”A lot of legislators have universities in their districts. I’m more concerned about convincing them why we need to create something new when they want to build up what they have,” Clarno said. ”I don’t see either school as having more political clout.”

Westlund, Clarno and others also discount talk of a political tradeoff. The state board has agreed to budget $180 million over eight years for OSU to propel its engineering school into a top 25 program. Officials at both schools deny that UO will be handed the branch because OSU bagged such a large pot of money for its engineering school.

”I think the idea that people in Central Oregon would settle for the second best proposal for a political tradeoff is nonsense,” Risser said.

The state board will likely revisit its budget, including the $7.2 million for the branch, later this legislative session to find ways to trim dollars. As a result, board members tend to be more concerned about whether the state can afford to create a branch than the opinions of alumni in Central Oregon.

And although both schools are underscoring their respective academic reputations, those faced with deciding which school should offer the branch and whether it should happen this year have other things on their minds.

And it usually involves dollar signs.

”The bigger issue really is trying to sort all this out in light of the current funding situation,” said Tom Imeson, a member of the state higher education board. ”That doesn’t mean we’re not going to do Bend, but it’s not a done deal. That’s why I’ll probably focus on which school can reduce the need for special funding down the road, in addition to which one is a better fit.”