I am pleased to announce that Partners 4 Affordable Excellence @ EDU has begun sponsoring Bacon’s Rebellion effective January 1 this year. Under terms of the agreement, Bacon’s Rebellion will provide in-depth coverage of higher education issues in Virginia, with a particular emphasis on the cost of attendance of Virginia’s public colleges and universities.
Partners 4 Affordable Excellence @ EDU, a not-for-profit organization, was founded in 2014 in response to soaring tuition, fees and other costs associated with attending U.S. institutions of higher education. The philosophical viewpoint of the group and Bacon’s Rebellion are closely aligned. Readers will find the following statement from the group’s “About Us” page to hit familiar themes:
The public insists that new answers be found to preserve and protect the core American belief that anyone can succeed with talent and hard work. Yet, many public university leaders maintain that tuition increases are inevitable and irreplaceable. Rankings, they contend, count more than affordable excellence.
The chances of “fixing” the system from inside seem increasingly unlikely. Progress seems incremental at best, particularly at “flagship” public research universities who set the pace for cost and the standards for excellence.
Concerned by the rising cost of higher education, a group of “philanthropists, edupreneurs, and researchers” created Partners for Affordable Excellence @EDU with a mission to enhance academic excellence in higher ed while maintaining affordable tuition. Partners has helped draft legislation to make more transparent how colleges spend the tuition & fees they receive and how efficiently they operate. Additionally, the organization is developing an online training tool to instruct newly appointed board members on the fundamentals of college and university governance.
The Partners board of directors includes three Virginians, at least two of whom are readily familiar to readers of Bacon’s Rebellion: Gilbert T. Bland, past chairman of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and former member of the boards of Old Dominion University and the James Madison University Foundation; Helen E. Dragas, former rector of the University of Virginia; and James V. Koch, former president of Old Dominion University.
The terms of the sponsorship, as with all Bacon’s Rebellion sponsorships, ensure the editorial independence and integrity of the blog.
