Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 18, 1993 TAG: 9311180133
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALLISON BLAKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Wednesday, the State Council for Higher Education voted to recommend the college's operating budget for the next two years for inclusion in the state budget that Gov. Douglas Wilder will present Dec. 20.
Their vote came the same day Wilder and Gov.-elect George Allen both said funding shortfalls may not be as critical as thought earlier this fall.
Meredith Strohm, the provost for the new college, said a total of $3.1 million will pay for increased start-up costs as the college moves closer to opening day. Included will be 14 new faculty members and administrators. In the fall of 1995, about 50 students are expected to enroll on a trial basis.
The education council approved $1.3 million in operating costs for next year, and $1.8 million for the following year, said spokesman Mike McDowell.
Meanwhile, Strohm and Radford President Donald Dedmon will appear Friday before the state Senate Finance Committee's education subcommittee in an effort to gain support. They'll give a progress report on the new college.
Groundbreaking for the first building of the new college may come late this spring, funded with $5 million from a bond issue passed by voters last year. Although the college's curriculum still is being developed, the school is expected to prepare students to work in an international work force, said Strohm.
Even in the state's shaky fiscal atmosphere, "We do think it's important that the colleges and universities keep moving forward," said McDowell.
by CNB