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"Some college administrators seem so distracted with fund raising, academic infighting, and community initiatives that they set up their emergency communications departments very poorly. Training is poor to nonexistent, secretaries are pressed into service with tremendous responsibilities for running 'notification systems' 24/7 and on weekends because no one else knows how to do it and the administration won’t pay for additional staff. Procedures are seat-of-the-pants and dependent on HIPPO (highest paid person’s opinion), except when something like Virginia Tech happens and there is some sort of scramble to do something different." --Donna
Most Colleges Avoid Risk Management, Report Says
Jill Biden Shines a Global Spotlight on American Community Colleges
Speaking at a Unesco conference in Paris, the vice president’s wife stressed the importance of two-year institutions to the nation’s educational goals.
Connecticut Public Colleges Lose 200 Professors to Early Retirement
Administrators are scrambling to plug holes in their course schedules for fall, with most expecting to do so by hiring more adjuncts or increasing class sizes.
U. of Georgia Paid 2 Fraternities $2.4-Million to Relocate, Contracts Show
The two were among five with houses on property where the university plans to build new academic facilities.
New Allegations in Admissions Controversy at U. of Illinois Suggest Ex-Provost Played a Role
Linda P.B. Katehi, the incoming chancellor of the University of California at Davis, has insisted she knew nothing of the admission of politically connected applicants at Illinois.
Sonoma State U. Foundation May Lose $350,000 on Loan to Former Board Member
The foundation will be forced to issue fewer scholarships in the 2010-11 academic year because of a diminished endowment, a university official said.
College Suspends Student for Working in Gay Pornography | 58
President Obama's Visit to Notre Dame Carries Barely a Hint of Controversy That Preceded It | 58
Drug Sting Nabs 21 Students at U. of Illinois | 57
Faculty Members and Union Protest Staff Layoffs at Temple U. as 'Cruel' | 57
North Dakota Board's Vote Puts 'Fighting Sioux' Mascot on Thinner Ice | 57
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January 14, 2009
Montana Governor Presses Universities on Pork-Barrel Spending
Another year has come and gone, and Montana’s governor says he’s still not getting the full story about suspected pork-barrel spending at the state’s universities.
The governor, Brian D. Schweitzer, yesterday called in the state’s commissioner of higher education, Sheila Stearns, and the presidents of the University of Montana and Montana State University to demand that they exercise more oversight over the use of millions of dollars in research money, the Associated Press reported.
The Democratic governor said he was skeptical of projects such as the Inland Northwest Space Alliance and the Joe Skeen Institute for Rangeland Restoration. He said he awaited a report on grant money that he expected months ago. Ms. Stearns said the report will be submitted by March. —Paul Basken
Posted on Wednesday January 14, 2009 | Permalink |Comments
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Good, the Governor is on to something. But let’s not forget the money came from a wasteful Congress and yes, White House. And why do they give away and waste money ?? Because their constituents, or at least their lobbiests, say it’s essential and necessary. Time to stop all the nonsence and focus on student needs.
— Gustavo Mellander Jan 14, 02:48 PM #
Universities do not exist solely for “student needs.” I have no idea if these programs in Montana are necessary or well-administered, but universities (research universities) exist to do research that benefits far more people than its currently enrolled students.
— Rob Jan 14, 04:04 PM #
I agree with Rob. Governors in some states leared 30 years ago to encourage university research as a sine qua non of economic development, but no governor of Montana has spotted the connection yet. Weird.
— case hardened Jan 14, 04:21 PM #
The “pork-barrel spending” in Montana higher ed caught my eye. In 2006, Montana spent a whopping $708 per capita on higher educcation — only $24 per person per year LESS than Mississippi!! It must really be a slow winter in Helena this year.
— william Jan 14, 04:47 PM #
Making appropriate use of funds is one thing, but why do politicians always assume that universities are wasting money? Most public universities operate in an extremely lean fashion.
— ap Jan 14, 04:53 PM #
Why would a governor of any state try to micro-manage research projects at universities? This is weird!
— LJ Jan 14, 04:56 PM #
It is ironic that a politician is pointing his finger at higher education wasting money. We so often find ourselves teaching about what THEY do with our tax money.
And yes, while there are occasional boondoggles or well-intentioned efforts that don’t pan out, public universities are supposed to be exploring where no one has explored before. Not exactly rife with pork-barrels in OUR neck of the woods.
— EP Jan 14, 04:58 PM #
I’m not sure if there’s enough information here to challenge or support Governor Schweitzer’s suspicion of wasteful expenditures, but that lack of information in itself legitimizes his demand for increased accountability.
On the one hand, both the Northwest Space Alliance and the Joe Skeen Institute for Rangeland Restoration seem reasonable in name. Those grants might lead to the development of technology and jobs, as well as the preservation of wildlife and the environment.
On the other hand, if a report on grant money is significantly overdue, then that tardiness might reveal accounting problems that ultimately lead to wasteful spending during a time of economic crisis.
If the governor were to rephrase his position — let’s say, from skepticism about the programs’ value to an executive need to account for their value — then his very same call for immediate action suddenly becomes legitimate.
The governor’s “skepticism” might betray his political predisposition against funding universities. However, what he is asking for is not in itself unreasonable. To fight his demand on the basis of how he phrased it is not to argue against what he wants. Rather, the argument reveals our own skepticism about why he wants it, a skepticism that might have less to do with this particular state or governor than with other economic setbacks for American education.
Some of these setbacks are the result of an ideological attack on education. Others are just economic realities.
Right now more than ever, we have to account for our value. Forfeit the political argument about value in favor of an economic account of that value. Otherwise, the economic crisis will support those who oppose funding education, and not us. And it has the possibility of supporting us.
— Gray Kane Jan 14, 10:34 PM #
Colleges and universities are a sink hole for money. A pig is a mortar board is still a pig. Much research and publications are the great leap forward. Instead just a dervish spinning around and around. Peer review is simply back patting—you review mine; I’ll review yours. Criticize mine; forget about getting yours publish. Sabbaticals, life tenure, light loads, funded research—hardly a recipe for hard work and the growth of knowledge and utility for citizens.
— GENE Jan 15, 08:14 PM #
Gene,
Not to discredit that what you say in fact transpires, but how does your description not ignore the best of academia in preference for elevating the worst into the limelight? Is that not the same as focusing on the worst of any business as if the worst represented standard practices?
— Gray Kane Jan 15, 09:54 PM #