National CrossTalk is a publication of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. Their summer issue features a story on Virginia’s university system and, in particular, the “charter university” bill that morphed into broader university management legislation during the 2005 General Assembly.
The set-up for the story is interesting. We’re lucky our state universities still exist because things were so bad before this legislation:
Virginia’s reputation as a nurturer of excellence in higher education teetered on collapse.
The despair expressed by education officials was notable. One college president described the state as delivering “grievous wounds” to the campuses. The director of the state’s Council on Higher Education departed his post, saying any more time on the job would amount to “cruel and unusual punishment.” A dean at the University of Virginia said the starving of public institutions represented “insane, ideological, odd thinking” in Richmond.
While this article is a useful discussion of the potential impact of the legislation and includes an interview with Gov. Warner, it is more noteworthy for what it says about the way the higher education establishment views the world.
