Virginia may finance a new public university in the south-central region of the Commonwealth within the next decade.
Sen. W. Roscoe Reynolds, D-Martinsville, proposed a resolution in the General Assembly Jan. 14 requesting that the State Council for Higher Education consider the establishment of a four-year university in the region.
"The governor is supportive of an effort to study the prospect of a four-year institution in Southside," said Ellen Qualls, spokesperson for Gov. Mark R. Warner.
State legislators and Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine formulated the resolution in response to the anticipated swell of in-state college students in the near future and the struggling economy in the south-central region.
A study completed by SCHEV in July 2003 predicted that the state's university system will need to accommodate as many as 61,000 additional Virginia students by 2010. Although there are already 15 public universities in the state, South Central Virginia is notably lacking such an institution, Kaine Spokesperson Jeff Kraus said.
"The part of the state that does not have a four-year public university happens to be the part of the state that has been hardest hit by economic challenge," Kraus said.
A public university could boost the economy through additional employment and student and faculty spending, he said.
The region's economy currently is hindered by few college graduates returning due to a lack of job opportunities, he added.
University spokesperson Carol Wood attested to the economic windfall an institution of higher education can bring.
"You can see living in Charlottesville what a university does for an entire region," Wood said.
Difficulties also arise when students in the Danville-Martinsville area must travel two hours to attend the nearest existing public universities, Kraus said. The geographic gap of educational institutions makes commuting an unattractive option for students.
There is no timeline for the completion of the university, but there are avid local supporters, Kraus said.
Area developer William Adkins offered 100 acres in Henry County as a potential site for the Southside university. In addition, the Harvest Foundation of the Piedmont recently announced a $50 million grant towards the establishment of the new university.
"There are a lot of people who understand the power of this idea," Kraus said.
Others remain skeptical about the state's ability to fund such an undertaking.
"It's a terrific idea when and if the state has the money," Politics Prof. Larry Sabato said. "At present Virginia is not coming close to funding its current colleges and universities, not least the University of Virginia -- when I was a student here in the early seventies, the state provided U.Va. with about 34 percent of its operating funds. Today that number is a miserly 8 percent. And we're going to create a brand-new drain on state resources?"
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