Is VCU In Trouble $$$ Wise?

[ramathon74]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/08/AR2010060804643.html

Sure looks like it according to this opinion editorial from the main Washington Post editorials page.

SOME CANDIDATES for public office in Virginia, particularly tax-averse Republicans, like to pretend that shrinking the size of state government is a simple matter of slaying the mythical dragon of "waste, fraud and abuse." The reality of budget-cutting is drastically different, and more painful, as anyone at the state's biggest institution of higher learning, Virginia Commonwealth University, can attest.

No four-year school in Virginia has expanded faster than VCU, which added 8,370 students over the past decade and now has an enrollment of more than 32,000. With the encouragement of political, civic and business leaders, VCU opened its doors to become a portal of opportunity for the state's most diverse student body; almost a third of the students are the first in their families to attend college. Once mainly a commuter school serving Richmond and its suburbs, VCU now draws students from across the commonwealth. A quarter of freshmen, the largest single cohort, hail from Northern Virginia...........

Looks like we are getting shafted for being the good guy for Virginia students.

 

[eaglescout1984]

That's the way it seems to go. But hopefully when we start coming out of this recession the increasing number of alumni who have benefited from VCU being such a good guy will start to give back. I'm less than a year out of school and I'm still paying off student loans, but I do plan to give plenty to VCU when my education pays off. (Of course any fellow VCU alum who can help me get a job with nice paycheck will immediately increase alumni giving )

 

[ram4life]

From those who look into the crystal ball of higher education, I get the feeling that state universities will never get the financial support that they have had in the past. This is a fact that we must face and accept. This means that gifts from alumni and friends will be more important in the future. VCU currently is in the middle of a $50 million campaign where the proceeds will be used only for scholarships. The success of this campaign is absolutely essential if we are going to continue to serve the residents of Virginia. Give now, or give later, but give often. It is our University!