THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 19, 1994 TAG: 9412190069
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
Budget cuts have brought the state college system, like an uncared-for machine, to the verge of a breakdown, former Gov. Gerald L. Baliles said Sunday at Old Dominion University's winter commencement.
``Virginia seems to be walking away from its commitment to strong colleges and universities,'' Baliles told nearly 1,000 graduates at Scope. ``There are problems on the horizon occasioned by . . . an apparent lack of public will to invest in the future of our commonwealth.''
In an interview afterward, Baliles said legislators should stop reducing - and start increasing - funding for higher education. The reductions, he said, ``jeopardize the future of our society.''
The comments make Baliles the most prominent political figure in Virginia to attack the budget cuts, which have been criticized - mostly in private - by some legislators and educators. State aid for colleges has been slashed more than 20 percent since Baliles left office in 1990.
His remarks came a day before Gov. George F. Allen is to unveil his proposed state budget for 1995-96. Allen has promised no ``across-the-board cuts'' for colleges, but administrators are still nervous that their budgets will be hit to help fund prison construction and Allen's proposed $2.1 billion tax cut.
Six state-supported universities - including Norfolk State and Christopher Newport - could face cuts of up to 6 percent because their restructuring plans were not approved by the November deadline. State officials approved the revised plans of four of those schools - including NSU - last week, but they said that still might not spare the universities from cuts.
In his 15-minute speech, Baliles likened the strain on colleges to ``elegant degradation'' - an engineering phrase that refers to the ``constant, repetitive stress'' that some machines endure.
``The machine continues to look the same while it is slowly becoming weaker and weaker,'' he said. ``Finally, unable to withstand the stress, it breaks down. . . .
``We're on the slippery slope of elegant degradation. Whether Virginia's leaders have the wisdom and will to change remains to be seen in the months ahead.''
Baliles noted that state aid per student has dropped by one-third since 1990. That puts Virginia 43rd in the country, just above Alabama.
During his term as governor, Baliles built a reputation as a strong advocate for education - increasing state aid to colleges by 42 percent, with the help of a robust economy.
Baliles, an attorney in private practice, is chairman of the Commission on Educational Quality of the Southern Regional Education Board.
He helped write a regional report, released by the Southern board in February, criticizing both politicians, for slicing aid to colleges, and universities, for resisting efforts to reduce costs. But at the time, he refused to pinpoint the findings to Virginia.
In his speech Sunday, Baliles didn't criticize the state's universities. Instead, he praised ODU and others for ``doing their part, . . . finding ways to shift money from administration to teaching, to use technology to teach more students, to help students move through more quickly and to respond directly to what employers and students say they need.''
He also did not mention his successor, fellow Democrat L. Douglas Wilder, who oversaw the college cuts. After the speech, Baliles declined to say what alternatives to the cuts he would have proposed to balance the state budget.
He told the graduates to contact their legislators during the upcoming General Assembly session: ``Let them know that you support investment in the future, that you want the next generation of Virginians to have opportunities as good as or better than those you have had.''
Some graduates said Baliles' assessment was on target. ``I agree with that,'' said Remy Esquenet, who received a bachelor's degree in environmental health. ``We have 150 students in our program, and only one full-time professor. He runs the program by himself.''
Heather Lankford, who got a bachelor's degree in business, said: ``It's true more money is needed for education. But it was a little bit of a downer. I don't think today was the time to discuss that.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by BILL TIERNAN, Staff
Photo by Bill Tiernan, Staff
Claire Medlin of Norfolk received a bachelor's degree from Old
Dominion University Sunday. About 1,000 students went through ODU's
winter commencement at Scope.
KEYWORDS: COLLEGE UNIVERSITY VIRGINIA STATE BUDGET HIGHER
EDUCATION by CNB