Right on the money

AS THE hunt to replace President John T. Casteen III begins, the search committee should keep three priorities in mind: intellectual capital, human capital, and financial capital. The next President needs the intellectual capital to attract the human and financial capital our University desperately needs.
This is a critical time for the University — just as our public profile is increasing, the quality and resources of our institution are stagnating relative to our peers. This is extremely dangerous for the health and growth of the University when surrounded by a sea of rising competitors.
Our increasingly high public profile puts the spotlight on the University and creates a need for us to legitimize our claim as one of the premier centers of higher education in the nation. According to Google College Rankings, we are the second most searched university in the United States (after Harvard), indicating our increased visibility. Simultaneously, the University has dropped a spot in the U.S. News and World Report rankings (to 24) and is now tied with University of California — Los Angeles for title of second best public institution. Rankings aside, our ever-increasing record number of applications tells the same story: last year’s move to The Common Application opened us up to many students who otherwise would not have applied to the University, resulting in a 16 percent increase in total applicants.
While far from a panacea for all our ills, the presidential search represents a timely opportunity to take a step in the right direction. We need to find a visionary President that is not only of world-class prestige, but is also able to raise financial capital and is skilled at recruiting and retaining top-notch administration, faculty, and students.
In the three years I’ve spent at the University, we have lost a number of high-level administrators and faculty for reasons ranging from other institutions, like former College Dean Edward Ayers, to unfortunate passing, as was the case with former Admissions Dean John Blackburn. While we have done a decent job at filling these vacancies, we need to become better at retaining all the talent that we possibly can. Moreover, as faculty members have already called to our attention, many of our most skilled professors will be retiring in the next few years. This becomes extremely problematic when coupled with the hiring freezes that have currently slowed talent acquisition to a standstill.
In order to thaw this winter in the land of human resources, we simply need more financial capital — fast. In order to achieve this goal, we need a president who can form this University into a more flexible and agile institution. We need an innovator willing to take bold steps to move the University to more progressive and secure ground. For example, the University could fight for the right to (at least temporarily) enroll a higher percentage of out-of-state students in order to fill out the operational budget. In addition to not making any economic sense, the current admissions policy rests on dubious normative ground. As it stands, the Commonwealth is supplying less than ten percent of the University’s income. Simply put, it should be limited to a proportional amount of influence over the decisions the University makes, including those about who we can and cannot admit.
Yes, the University is a historically public institution; but in present reality, it is public only in name. The institution has a responsibility to the true stakeholders: the students and faculty. Student tuition and faculty research grants alone cover more than half of the academic budget. A move toward balanced admission would have several added benefits. In addition to relieving some stress on the budget, it would allow the institution to become more selective and reduce the lop-sided acceptance rate gap. All three of these effects would positively affect the University on the ground and in the rankings process. Additional reliance on sure sources of income (e.g. tuition) would meet The Cavalier Daily’s criteria for “promoting economic self-sufficiency to protect the University from dwindling state resources and capricious politicians,” as was argued in an August 25 editorial. Some of our top rivals in public education are already doing this. University of California ­­— Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau announced that his school, which obtains one fourth of its income from the state, plans to admit more non-resident students in order to improve its budget shortfall.
Ignoring my admissions crusade, however, I’m sure there are a number of other policies that an imaginative individual, with the ability to see past current norms, could change for the better. The point is that we need a president that is willing to think outside the box, push limits, and get results. We need not part with our mission for providing the highest quality public education in order to meet the challenges we face. We just need a new face — a new mind — to lead us to higher ground.
Matt Dickey’s column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at m.dickey@cavalierdaily.com