Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 9, 1994 TAG: 9404090031
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ALLISON BLAKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The former longtime dean of the College of Engineering, known for his finesse with politicians, spoke of the past, present and future of Virginia Tech - and the funding constraints that colleges and universities will continue to face.
"To hold down costs and improve quality at the same time is a challenge that has faced American industry and now faces higher education, and it is a challenge I accept," Torgersen said during a Friday afternoon speech at Burruss Hall.
"We will be cost-effective. At the same time, there are significant differences between business and the university. Universities are not top-down organizations, nor should they be. We operate through dialogue and consensus, and although this may take a bit longer, it is the only way to preserve the integrity of the academic process."
Torgersen's comments followed by only moments those of Senate Majority Leader Hunter Andrews, who drew a fiscal line in the My colleagues . . . regard him as an able leader and a persuasive advocate - especially when it comes to bringing home the bacon for this university. House Speaker Thomas Moss On new Tech President Paul Torgersen sand for colleges and universities.
"No matter how highly we value higher education, and I hold it extremely high, growth in available state resources will not approach the levels of the 1980s. The competition for state funds will remain severe," he said.
But Andrews, D-Hampton, also looked beyond money, suggesting a virtual tectonic shift ahead for the mission of higher education.
"Too many of our students are taught be telling, rather than by doing," said Andrews, the afternoon's keynote speaker. "And too many of our courses are organized with one faculty member or teaching assistant meeting three times a week for 50 minutes with their assigned students.
"I might respectfully suggest that there must be other, more effective ways that faculty might guide the learning of students. To find them, however, will require challenging some of the most basic precepts of higher education.
"It seems to me that the most successful students will not be those who command the greatest knowledge of their subject fields, for all of us have access to more information than we can possibly digest and make sense of," Andrews said.
"Rather, it seems to me that the most successful students will be those who can discriminate between competing information, who can synthesize what they know and adapt quickly to change."
As part of Founder's Day activities, the university awarded honors to students, faculty, staff and alumni - including alumnus Thomas Moss, speaker of the House.
Moss, D-Norfolk, recalled his first visit to Burruss Hall in the fall of '46, during the days of the schoolwide Corps of Cadets.
"It was awesome," said Moss, who received the Alumni Distinguished Service Award, alongside J. Landon Short, a foundation director and Exxon executive.
It was Moss who introduced Torgersen, noting that "my colleagues in Richmond regard him as an able leader and a persuasive advocate - especially when it comes to bringing home the bacon for this university."
A standing ovation greeted Torgersen as he was called to the podium to be installed as president by University Rector Clifton C. Garvin Jr. In the audience were most of the Torgersen clan - including the university president's parents.
Torgersen had called Andrews "a champion of higher education" earlier in the day, when the Information System Building, the hub of much of the Tech Corporate Research Center's futuristic activity, was named in Andrews' honor. The Blacksburg Electronic Village, for instance, operates from the center.
"I'm obviously very humble about it," Andrews said after the dedication. "But this is what the future is going to be. I believe this is the Information Age."
by CNB