Businesses benefit from the University of Idaho's research and academic programs, and they should be willing to help pay their share.

And this concept applies both to the U of I's agricultural research center in Parma and to law school classes in Boise, new university President Duane Nellis told the Statesman's editorial board this morning.

Nellis has a good point, considering the budget challenges he inherited when he took the president's job on July 1. Long before the recession, colleges and universities have received a steadily decreasing percentage of Idaho's budget. That's partly because of the real budget pressures created by the state's growing Medicaid programs — but it also reflects a Legislature that simply hasn't made higher education a priority.

If lawmakers don't always see the economic benefits of investing in higher education, then business leaders certainly should.

After all, Parma agricultural leaders have led the charge to save the embattled ag Research and Extention Center — seeking and getting the ear of Gov. Butch Otter. On Wednesday, Nellis said he would spend the next few months studying the center, which had been slated for a Dec. 31 closure.

Nellis hasn't made up his mind about the Parma center, but he is sold on bringing third-year law school offerings to Boise. Portland, Ore.-based Concordia College is looking at offering law classes in Boise, hiring former Idaho Supreme Court Justice Cathy Silak as dean, which lends a little bit of urgency to the U of I's efforts.

A Boise law school presence, particularly in business and government law, is one of Nellis' first priorities. "We need to do that sooner than later," he said this morning. But this, in turn, hinges on finding a location, and perhaps in forging partnerships with local law firms that have a vested interest in recruiting local law school grads.

The concept of private partnerships is hardly new in the higher education business. But in this fiscal climate, presidents such as Nellis will have to work even harder to hold their budgets together — which means businesses will have plenty of opportunities to pay more than just lip service to the value of higher ed.

Coming Friday: Our editorial will take a closer look at the Parma ag center issue.

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