Gov. Tim Kaine is proposing a $1.6 billion higher education bill, which if passed by the General Assembly will seek approval by a general referendum in the November election. The funds would be appropriated beginning in January 2009 to various public and private universities in Virginia.
Kaine said the bill includes a collection of capital projects.
"We asked universities to tell us what projects [were of high priority]," he explained, noting that the input from universities plays an important role in the appropriation of the funds.
According to the bill, the University will receive $115 million of the $1.6 billion, which will support construction projects on Grounds.
"Education is one of the two things I'm focusing on with my budget," Kaine said. "A better education means a better trained workforce and more [advancements in medical, technological or scientific] research."
Kaine also said he believes education is vital to economic development.
"It has always been assumed that the purpose [of higher education] is to educate individuals, but it's really the best economic development we have," he said. "The best way to grow the economy is to grow brainpower."
This bill is not the first higher education package to reach the Virginia legislature. Kaine said a $900 million higher education allocation was approved in 2002, adding that if the current legislation passes the General Assembly, it will be used during the five to seven years following the completion of the 2002 provision.
According to University spokesperson Carol Wood, $77.6 million will go toward the $80 million renovation of New Cabell Hall, while the remaining funds would be used to build a new information and technology building.
These types of bills are very beneficial to the Commonwealth, Wood said.
"It helps our universities across the state maintain their position in American higher education and helps us to increase and improve the quality of space in which our faculty do their basic work, which is research and teaching," she said.
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