THE UNIVERSITY recently finished its largest fund-raising project, drawing an unprecedented $1.43 billion in private donations. Thanks to the Capital Campaign, the University is able to boast that it raised one of the biggest sums ever by a public university, second only to the University of California-Berkeley's $1.44 billion. With the success of the Capital Campaign, one would think the University would be well on its way to improving its level of education and expanding its many undersized and understaffed facilities. Nothing, however, could be farther from the truth.
Due to state budget cuts and, more recently, a budget freeze called by Gov. James S. Gilmore III (R), the amount of money the University has to utilize for expansion has been cut. Exact amounts still are being debated, but one thing is clear: The University cannot count on steady state funds and should instead rely more heavily on private and corporate donations.
The University currently stands as one of the top universities in the country. It ranked 20th in the nation and tied with UC-Berkeley for the number one slot as best public university in this year's U.S. News and World Report rankings. These rankings represent a great deal of effort put into attracting the best faculty and students, building the best facilities, and funding the most illustrious research possible. All these tasks require a good deal of money, and if the University is to continue its tradition of excellence, it is going to need even more money.
The present budget situation does not bode well for the future. From the beginning of this academic year, the University had been planning to request a larger sum of money from the state to fund such projects as the construction of a $25 million information system and a $5.6 million scientific research fund. In his 2000-02 budget proposal, Gov. Gilmore also proposed to increase the amount of money going to the University by 8.58 percent for 2001 and 10.79 percent for 2002 (http://www.schev.edu/html/budget/Conference_Report.pdf).
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These plans were all abandoned when Gilmore announced he would try to keep good on his campaign promise to eliminate the "car tax." For the University, this means that several projects, such as the construction of a new studio arts building and a special collections library, is halted. In addition, many of the private funds which were collected during the Capital Campaign may not be able to go to their intentioned spending areas.
The extent to which the University's programs rely on the actions of an unreliable, and sometimes unpredictable, state government is ineffective. The state's recent budget imposition on the University has a long line of precedents. According to the University Budget Office, this year 22.1 percent of the University's funding came from the state - one of the highest levels of state funding in recent history. The amount of state contributions has fluctuated greatly from the most recent high of 27.7 percent in 1986-1987, to a low of 11.3 percent in 1996-1997. From 1991 to 1999, the percentage of state funding remained below 20 percent. This level of state funding does not come close to measuring up to our competitor UC-Berkeley, which has maintained state funding of over 35 percent for the past decade.
To supplement the University's budget, the first component that will probably increase will be out-of-state tuition - as there is a tuition freeze on in-state costs. Tuition has been increasing yearly at rates that are often much larger than the inflation rate. This makes getting an education at our public institution progressively more expensive. Tuition increases should not be the substantive means to remedy deficiencies in the budget.
The next two largest components of the University's budget are sponsored programs and gifts and endowment, which make up 26.6 percent and 15.2 percent of this year's budget, respectively. This is where the main extension to the University's budget must come from. Though the University has been able to do an excellent job of garnering gifts and sponsorships, there simply must be more of it. While it might take a monumental and unprecedented effort, it must be done. Fortunately, Vice President for Development Robert Sweeney, said his office is in a transition phase where they are reengineering some of their programs in order to double giving by the end of the decade.
To not only retain, but also exceed, its current level of distinction, it is clear that the University needs more money. Our current budget problems threaten to throw a wrench to the University's quest for excellence. A tenuous history has shown that the Commonwealth of Virginia is not consistent in providing much-needed revenue. It is unfair to penalize students who rely on the affordability of public education. Clearly, an increase in gifts and sponsorships are the only pieces that can complete the budget puzzle for success. It will be difficult, but hard times call for extraordinary measures, and this is at present, the best solution, at present
(Alex Rosemblat is a Cavalier Daily viewpoint writer.)
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