Arkansas Blog

The shenanigans up in Fayetteville have far reaching implications. When they pull this kind of crap up there, it reflects badly on the whole state higher education system. Meanwhile, in Monticello and Magnolia, we're scraping together every dollar to keep chemistry labs open and copying machines running without raising tuition. I teach in a building with a leaky roof and intermittently working heaters, while White buys more land for administrators' mansions.

But I'm not bitter or anything.

Before White and New begin selling off public property and laying plans for a brand, new poorly located high school they better consider what this current controversy will stir up in the minds of voters when it comes time to ask for yet another tax for Fayetteville to build a new school.
.

"Meanwhile, in Monticello and Magnolia, we're scraping together every dollar to keep chemistry labs open and copying machines running without raising tuition." --- Archaeopteryx

Arch, I can't speak for Magnolia, but there's no excuse for a financial crunch of this kind at UAM. Last I read, the UA System's Foundation had endowment assets valued at almost $1.2 billion (with a B) and had investment returns in fiscal 2007 of more than 19%.

I think the UA's Foundation distributed more than $35 million last year to its 10 campuses, divisions, and a research center to help pay for scholarships, faculty, facilities, and academic programs. Maybe you folks down there in Monticello and the 4th District aren't yelling loud enough for your share. You do have a UA board member who lives at Monticello, you know.

And speaking of rising tuition costs, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is raising all kinds of hell these days, saying that colleges with endowments of $500 million and up should be required to spend 5% each year, just as private foundations must, to help families and students afford college. He says he doesn't begrudge colleges and universities their financial success, but they do need to be reminded that their money is tax-exempt and they're supposed to offer public benefit in return for the tax exemption.

My kids are educated and on their own, but for the sake of others, I say Go Chuck! (And hey, this idea: Maybe Chuck could be assisted by U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor (R-Ark.)

Durango, I agree--there's plenty of money in the system. It's just that very little of it tends to leak in a southerly direction past Little Rock. I think our administrators do a fine job of keeping us afloat with what they've got to work with, but it's mighty frustrating to see UAF spending 30 million here and 30 million there, while we're teaching with equipment that's older than we are (no joke), in a building that's held together with bailing wire and duct tape.

I think you'd be surprised and pleased at how many of our students are receiving tuition aid. If a kid wants to go to school here, we generally are able to find a way to make it happen. Our academic affairs and student aid people bust their collective ass to make sure that nobody's getting passed by for financial reasons, and we have the lowest per-hour tuition rate in the state (for four-year schools). Our advancement team is going great guns to provide new scholarship opportunities. But when it comes to facilities and equipment, we have to overcome a funding formula that is heavily biased to the northwest. They're going to spend 60 million at Fayetteville so they can improve parking? That chunk of money would pretty much solve our facilities problems down here.

Our parking's great, though.