Post by pavel on Apr 11, 2016 19:06:12 GMT -6
Hutchison, Fenves Decry Dwindling State Support for Higher Education
Lamenting the shrinking state support for higher education in Texas and across the country, University of Texas at Austin President Greg Fenves and former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said Monday that universities, state governments and the private sector must act to preserve public colleges' strengths.
Cooperation is needed, Hutchison said, to "protect our universities' capabilities to do great things for our students and our nation."
Hutchison and Fenves spoke in Austin with a group of reporters before meeting with state and higher education leaders, including Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, about the issue. They planned to present a report that said state funding of public research universities has dipped 34 percent nationwide in the past decade. Flagship universities aren't immune to that trend. State funding now makes up about 12 percent of UT-Austin's budget, compared with a peak of 47 percent in 1984-85.
The report was compiled by a group organized by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Hutchison, chairwoman of the Texas Exes board of directors, served as an adviser for the report. Fenves wasn't involved but hosted Monday's meeting and said he is "very supportive" of its goals.
Read more: www.texastribune.org/2016/04/11/hutchison-fenves-decry-dwindling-state-support-hig/
Lamenting the shrinking state support for higher education in Texas and across the country, University of Texas at Austin President Greg Fenves and former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said Monday that universities, state governments and the private sector must act to preserve public colleges' strengths.
Cooperation is needed, Hutchison said, to "protect our universities' capabilities to do great things for our students and our nation."
Hutchison and Fenves spoke in Austin with a group of reporters before meeting with state and higher education leaders, including Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, about the issue. They planned to present a report that said state funding of public research universities has dipped 34 percent nationwide in the past decade. Flagship universities aren't immune to that trend. State funding now makes up about 12 percent of UT-Austin's budget, compared with a peak of 47 percent in 1984-85.
The report was compiled by a group organized by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Hutchison, chairwoman of the Texas Exes board of directors, served as an adviser for the report. Fenves wasn't involved but hosted Monday's meeting and said he is "very supportive" of its goals.
Read more: www.texastribune.org/2016/04/11/hutchison-fenves-decry-dwindling-state-support-hig/