After attending the Tri-Cities Public Forum on Higher Education on Sept. 8, I was more excited than I ever had been about the possibility of a full university in the Tri-Cities.

I was blown away by the high level of involvement by community leaders, the Tri-City Industrial Development Council, Columbia Basin College, Washington State University, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and our state legislators.

Before the forum, I had no idea this eclectic group was investing so much time and energy on improving higher education in the Tri-Cities. I walked away from the forum with a head full of ideas, and the following morning I began to write a proposal to present my ideas to the TRIDEC Higher Education Committee.

I began by stating where I was coming from. I am a graduate of CBC and WSU Tri-Cities. I spent a good portion of my undergraduate education going back and forth between schools to fulfill the degree requirements of WSU.

While the transfer from CBC to WSU was not impossible, it was arduous. I appreciated CBC and WSU Tri-Cities trying to accommodate the needs of undergraduate students, but the process was just so cumbersome.

I thought about moving to Pullman, but I was determined to get my degree here. I had a great part-time lab technician position at PNNL and I did not want to leave the Tri-Cities.

Finally in January, with my bachelor of science degree in hand, eight years of experience at PNNL and the backing of my management, I was promoted to a full-time junior researcher position. My dreams had come true, so I thought.

What I soon realized is that I had reached a personal false summit - now that I had what I wanted, I wanted more. After I earn a master of science degree in chemistry from WSU Tri-Cities I want to earn a Ph.D.

Unfortunately, I currently cannot get a Ph.D. in chemistry in the Tri-Cities, but if we had a full university I could.

I've read the five alternatives outlined by the TRIDEC committee, which range from little change from the status quo to merging CBC and WSU into a new, independent university.

Based on my experiences as a student, I favor option four of the five, but with an addendum.

As is, this option would turn WSU Tri-Cities into an independent four-year institution with undergraduate and graduate degree program offerings that are tightly aligned with PNNL for a focus on science and technology.

Option four does not include CBC, but the addendum I propose does.

I would like to see CBC and the current WSU Tri-Cities remain separate institutions and for WSU Tri-Cities to serve as a seed campus from which a full university would grow.

I would like for both CBC and the full university to independently offer undergraduate degrees to noncompetitively serve the diverse needs of the community.

CBC would continue to serve as a vocational school and community college, but would also begin offering the undergraduate degrees in agriculture and nursing that WSU-Tri-Cities currently offers.

The full university, operating in a close partnership with PNNL, would turn its focus to undergraduate and expanded graduate science and engineering degree programs that would align with PNNL's core research.

Business administration and education degree programs would continue to be offered by the full university as well. Just imagine: a full university in the Tri-Cities where you could earn your bachelor, master and doctorate degrees from the ground up at one university - no transferring necessary.

Most, if not all, of the upper division agriculture and nursing courses currently offered at WSU Tri-Cities are taught via the Washington Higher Education Telecommunication System (WHETS). The lower division counterparts of these two degree programs are already offered at CBC, and with the implementation of a WHETS system at CBC, the upper division courses could also be taught.

Consolidating these two degree programs at CBC would ease the cumbersome transfer process and unnecessary commute between CBC and WSU Tri-Cities for agriculture and nursing students.

The idea of dividing CBC and the full university is not an attempt to eliminate flexibility in the higher education system. CBC could still serve as a stepping-stone for future university students, offer associate degrees and vocational training and some four-year degrees.

Whatever plan we adopt, the Tri-Cities is well-positioned to become home to a full university. I do not know of any other university that has a national lab across the street that is willing to invest in its development.

Let's look at our situation through entrepreneurial eyes and not let this great opportunity for economic development and educational development in the Tri-Cities pass us by.

n Kayte Denslow is a recent chemistry graduate of WSU Tri-Cities and a full-time researcher at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Kayte is pursuing a master's degree at WSU-TC and aspires to subsequently earn a Ph.D. in chemistry in the Tri-Cities. Kayte lives in Richland with husband, Mike, and his children Lauren and Tyler.