It’s often tempting to refer to Virginia’s state legislature as an ignorant rabble, but that caricature is difficult to maintain in light of a Chronicle of Higher Education research report showing that 88.6% of the 140 members of the General Assembly have college degrees — the second highest level in the country. Only California ranks higher.
Of course, California is vivid proof that there is not necessarily any connection between the educational attainment of legislators and the quality of their governance. Indeed, there may be an inverse relation between education and competence. The more degrees politicians have under their belts, the more likely they are to believe they know what’s best for lesser mortals — and the more tempted they are to meddle in things they know nothing about! Ninety-four percent of the members of Congress have a college degree or higher. Need I say more?
Virginia legislators rank 3rd in the nation (after New York and New Jersey) for the percentage of lawmakers possessing an M.A. degree or more.
And they rank 6th in the nation (following Delaware, Oregon, Georgia, Utah and North Carolina) for lawmakers possessing doctorates.
College officials often complain that state lawmakers don’t understand the challenges of public universities because they either didn’t earn a degree or they earned one from a private institution. But the Chronicle‘s findings didn’t support those beliefs in Virginia, where 53% of lawmakers went to college in the state and most of those attended public schools.
The schools with the highest representation of alumni serving in the General Assembly:
University of Virginia… 24
University of Richmond… 16
Virginia Teach… 14
Virginia Commonwealth University… 12
College of William and Mary… 9
Old Dominion University… 9
Virginia State University… 5
Virginia Union University… 5
James Madison University… 5
(Click on map for more legible image.)
