Number cruncher, Jim Rimpau, is at heart of MSU’s new emphasis on data

Jim Rimpau is Montana State University’s chief number cruncher.

High up on the third floor of Montana Hall — in a small, sterile office enlivened by his pictures of hunting dogs, quail, trout and chimpanzees — Rimpau is quietly gathering hundreds of statistics about MSU.

By GAIL SCHONTZLER, Chronicle Staff Writer

Sounds boring. But those little numbers could influence big decisions about who gets money and who doesn’t, and what direction MSU pursues in the future.

His job, executive director of the office of planning and analysis, is part of the cultural revolution MSU President Geoff Gamble has been working to bring about since he was hired two years ago.

Since the day he was first interviewed, Gamble said, he has been talking about the importance of "accountability and assessment," which means telling the public what MSU is doing, being open and measuring MSU’s progress.

One of Gamble’s mantras is that decisions should be made in a "data-rich environment."

He hired Rimpau as the guy to find the data.

"Some administrators are more intuitive," Rimpau said Thursday. "In my line of work, it’s a lot more fun to work for someone like Geoff who uses your work."

Rimpau for years was in charge of "institutional research" or gathering data about Washington State University. There he worked closely with Gamble, who was vice provost.

When he came to MSU in June, Rimpau replaced Cel Johnson, who left for a job in California. She had gathered data about MSU demanded by everyone from federal agencies to popular magazines that rate universities.

Gamble enlarged the job’s scope, to be more involved in planning for the future.

For months Rimpau has been working closely with the 21-member budget committee that Gamble created. It is gathering three sets of data on costs, quality and national comparisons, which could guide decisions on where to invest money — or where to make budget cuts.

It’s still not certain the attempt will work, but Rimpau is optimistic.

Hired at $104,000, he took a pay cut of about $10,000 to come to MSU, which was painful, he said. "But the job was intriguing … and the challenge irresistible."

There aren’t many universities with a budget committee of 21 people, working out in the open, with a local businesswoman on board and a reporter listening in.

On most campuses, he said, key budget decisions are made by a much smaller group in a much smaller room.

"The whole notion of Geoff’s is kind of a grand experiment," Rimpau said. "It’s the kind of thing that, if it really works, five years from now people will be writing books about it."

Rimpau, 51, took a roundabout route to this job. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Nevada in experimental psychology, teaching American sign language to chimps. To finish his dissertation, he needed access to a computer, so he took a job at the university’s institutional research office.

Rimpau said Montana is a big change from Washington State. Money is much tighter at MSU, but the town is great, and "I’m amazed by the quality" of people here, he said.

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2003/01/03/news/numbersbzbigs.txt