It is no secret that the fiscal crisis in Richmond is dire, demanding drastic correction in order to keep the commonwealth afloat. However, the General Assembly has already gone too far in what has become an all-out assault on the budget of Virginia’s higher education system. If we are to have any hope of maintaining Virginia’s tradition of academic excellence and affordability, Richmond must make a change and begin to think long term when it makes decisions like these in the near future.
What the GA attempted last summer gives a good indication of just where we stand on its list of priorities. As part of the federal stimulus bill, several million dollars were allocated specifically for higher education, but the state shifted those funds into its own general coffers. Immediately resulting in a tuition hike, this was robbing Peter to pay Paul, and — luckily for us — it was illegal. The money has since been returned, although the new tuition rates are likely here to stay.
The most recent misstep comes from deep within former Gov. Tim Kaine’s final budget and aims to shave off about 5 percent from the auxiliary funds of Virginia universities. This unprecedented effort is a matter of public trust; students pay into auxiliary services in the form of student fees, knowing their money will support educational units, not be used to patch the state’s budgetary holes.
Beyond that, fees will have to be raised to make up for the lost funds. Effectively, in passing this legislation, the GA is creating a tax targeting students only, which is neither equitable nor right. Gov. Bob McDonnell must pass an amendment to leave Virginia’s auxiliary funds intact.
All of this brings us to look upon fiscal year 2011-2012 with great concern. Once federal stimulus funds run out, we will again be fully at Richmond’s whim, and at this point no one knows how the College of William and Mary will fare.
Over the last few decades the GA has proven itself willing to under-fund Virginia’s schools. We cannot stand being hobbled by the very body that we should be looking to for support. Richmond must look elsewhere for spending cuts over the next few years, or Virginia’s tradition of academic excellence may become another casualty of the Great Recession.
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yeah, Jefferson did not
yeah,
Jefferson did not “despise” the College, although he certainly had his criticisms. He rightly viewed his experiences there as a formative stage in his life. He was grateful for his professors: “It was my great fortune, and what probably fixed the destinies of my life that Dr. William Small of Scotland was then professor of mathematics, a man profound in most of the useful branches of science, with a happy talent of communication, correct and gentlemanly manners and an enlarged and liberal mind.” If he were not at the College, he would not have met George Wythe, “[his] earliest and best friend,” who taught him law and to whom he was “indebted for first impressions which have had the most salutary influence on the course of his life.”
Of course, Jefferson was not one to withhold criticism. He called to the Wren building a “rude mis-shapen pile” and spoke disparagingly of the grammar school that was housed in the Wren. In the “Jeffersonian Reorganization” of the College’s curriculum, the grammar school was removed and new professorships were created that were more agreeable to Jefferson’s liberal vision for education. Of course, these reforms were not good enough for the idealistic Jefferson, so he created his own university. Nevertheless, it would be wrong to think that Jefferson hated the College or regretted his time spent there.
There IS no academic
There IS no academic excellence without paying for it. W&M is slipping because it can’t pay their current professors competitive salaries and certainly cannot attract “star” talent. George Mason now has more name recognition than W&M in some circles as they have star economic profs, one who has a weekly column in the NYTs. Wake up folks, tuition must go way up or W&M will continue to slide. It’s all about money, not pictures of the Wren Building or talking about Thomas Jefferson (who despised W&M for guess what, have god awful financial issues — sound familiar?).