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Virginia Tries Restructuring Financial stress leads to new arrangements between state and campuses.
		(Photo by Axel Koester for CrossTalk) The successful fundraising efforts of Steve Sample, USC president since 1991, have enabled the Los Angeles institution to move into the front rank among American research universities. Sample also has stressed improvements in USC's undergraduate program. ( more) News Virginia Tries Restructuring Financial stress leads to new arrangements between state and campuses Georgia's Odd Couple Can two foundations share a university without driving each other crazy? New Life for USC Prolific fundraising keys big changes in recent years Emphasizing Two-Year Programs Montana's "Shared Leadership" project attempts a more collaborative approach to higher education Special Insert "State Capacity for Higher Education Policy" (PDF Download) News From The Center New Board Member Letters To The Editor Privileged lords of the universe? Medgar Evers College's unique mission Other Voices Academic Freedom and National Securiy Anti-terrorism measures remain problematic for higher education Reducing the Dangers of Debt Student loans could be a more positive tool in college access efforts A Race to the Bottom The nation's school leadership programs are not producing the educational administrators we need
By Robert A. Jones Richmond, Virginia Through much of the last decade, Virginia's public universities have served as a kind of canary-in-the-coal-mine for higher education systems undergoing financial stress. Few have suffered as much as Virginia's, and many watched to see if the canary would wither under the strain.   State Senator John H. Chichester, a Republican, worked with Democratic Governor Mark Warner to restructure Virginia higher education. (Photo by Dennis Brack, Black Star, for CrossTalk)   Beginning in the '90s, the state legislature repeatedly cut financial support to the campuses, once whacking 22 percent from the higher education budget in a two-year period. Governors alternately froze and then rolled back tuition, occasionally using the universities as a political whipping boy. Virginia's reputation as a nurturer of excellence in higher education teetered on collapse. (continue)
Georgia's Odd Couple Can two foundations share a university without driving each other crazy?
By Don Campbell Athens, Georgia Higher education's version of the Hatfields and McCoys might be over. After two years of relentless warfare, the University of Georgia and the UGA Foundation that had served it for 68 years have divorced -this time for good. The university has taken a new partner, called the Arch Foundation, to raise money for the university's academic programs. Meanwhile, the old foundation will continue to manage the university's $475 million endowment and share a staff with the new foundation. UGA President Michael Adams, the target of several trustees on the UGA Foundation, appears to be more firmly ensconced than ever. He has taken a direct hand in choosing trustees for the new 30-member Arch Foundation, even as trustees of the old foundation debate their future.   University of Georgia President Michael Adams survived an ouster attempt by the university's foundation. (Photo by Robin Nelson, Black Star, for CrossTalk)   A university with two major foundations is an unusual arrangement, and the way it came about is a case study in how communications and cooperation can get trampled in a power play. A university governing board smacked down a foundation that was attempting to exercise authority it didn't have, and the best efforts by outside parties to mediate were largely ignored. (continue)
© 2005 The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education