I first heard about this issue about a week ago mainly because of my alumni connection to the University of Michigan. Turns out the issue is happening at UT Austin also. The Chronicle has the story here.
The macro picture is that public universities are looking for every last cent in efficiencies as they struggle to find a sustainable business model for the future. The big picture is described pretty accurately with regards to Berkeley here, hat tip to Tyler Cowen.
Jenna Johnson’s Washington Post story is here. The actual panel report is here. The notion is that UVA would give up its approximately $150M state appropriation in return for a qualitatively more independent status, allowing it to be more agile in attracting the best students and faculty.
As the WAPO story makes clear, there’s likely to be substantial pushback.
First, a happy Twenty Ten to all of the loyal readers of this blog, now in it’s fifth year. My hope for all of us is that this new decade brings forth some really excellent science–science that perhaps can be usefully applied to our planet’s many vexing problems.
Dr. Harry Powell, the U.C. faculty’s chief liaison to the Regents, said, “The legislators have told us, essentially, ‘The Student is your A.T.M. They’re how you should balance your budget.’ “
The New York Times has a running-debate here. Economist and colleague, Tyler Cowen and I have talked about this over lunch. At some point I’ll try to crystalize my ideas on the matter and put them into a blog post. In the meantime, let’s see if Tyler addresses the issue over at Marginal Revolution.
The Chronicle’s Paul Fain has a brilliant analysis of what’s happening to the large public universities here (hat tip my wife).
Andrew Delbanco in the NY Review of books–money quote:
In short, the financial crisis not only is threatening the livelihood of faculty and staff but is also degrading the experience of students. And despite the big hit on the big endowments, the further you go down the hierarchy of prestige, the worse the effects. For instance, the chancellor of the Connecticut community college system recently informed faculty that the first phase of the governor’s proposed budget cuts would require limiting student enrollment, reducing service in libraries and laboratories, and cutting back on the availability of advising, remedial tutoring, and childcare. On the West Coast, things are no better: San Jose State University has been forced by budget reductions to turn away thousands of qualified applicants for the first time in its hundred-year history.[9]
For years, we have witnessed a growing gap between rich and poor colleges, the privatization of public universities, and aggressive if not reckless investment and spending practices at wealthy institutions, where the allure of gain appears to have overwhelmed the consciousness of risk. Now we are also witnessing drastic budget contraction at the most fragile and vulnerable institutions. Higher education has always been a mirror of American society—and, for the moment, at least, the image it reflects is not a pretty one.
From David Brook’s Column in today’s New York Times. Money quote:”Send federal money to the states, but make sure a lot of it goes to state universities. There’s going to be increased demand for their services at the same time their budgets are cut. We can’t weaken that link in the social mobility chain.”
Jim
Discoverers and Discoveries 