Spring Break
Preserving the 'land grant' vision
Dr. Anthony Frank
Issue date: 2/2/09 Section: Opinion
I have had the honor of studying at two of America's great land grant universities -- the University of Illinois and Purdue. But as an undergraduate, I'm sure I didn't fully understand what a land-grant university was or why it was different from other schools.
Sixteen years ago, I joined the faculty of another great land grant institution, Colorado State University, and over the years, I've gained a great admiration for the special character and role of land grant universities like CSU. Now, that historic role and mission provide an important context for understanding the choices and challenges facing CSU during our annual budget process.
In 1862, President Lincoln signed the Morrill Act into law, creating land grant colleges across the country. Unlike more traditionally elitist private schools, land grant institutions were created to "promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes." It was a radical experiment that democratized American higher education, making the full advantages of higher learning accessible to the children of working families.
A central tenet of this "radical experiment" was the notion that all citizens would help finance the cost of public education, because society as a whole would benefit from university graduates who were prepared to be teachers, doctors, engineers, lawyers and professionals in our communities. For nearly 140 years, this societal investment has helped keep education at our nation's public universities affordable to people from all walks of life.
Today, CSU, along with the rest of our state government, faces some serious financial challenges. As one of the few items in the state budget where we -- the voters -- have left our elected officials with discretion among an unpalatable menu of choices for how to balance the budget on our behalf, higher education funding gets hit hard in years when we see a downturn in the state economy.
At CSU, we've taken steps to prepare, including $1.5 million in recent cuts to university administration and preparations for an additional round of budget cuts for this fiscal year and next. We will not be taking across-the-board cuts, and we will attempt to keep the deepest reductions away from the classrooms, laboratories and student services to preserve the excellence of a CSU education.
Sixteen years ago, I joined the faculty of another great land grant institution, Colorado State University, and over the years, I've gained a great admiration for the special character and role of land grant universities like CSU. Now, that historic role and mission provide an important context for understanding the choices and challenges facing CSU during our annual budget process.
In 1862, President Lincoln signed the Morrill Act into law, creating land grant colleges across the country. Unlike more traditionally elitist private schools, land grant institutions were created to "promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes." It was a radical experiment that democratized American higher education, making the full advantages of higher learning accessible to the children of working families.
A central tenet of this "radical experiment" was the notion that all citizens would help finance the cost of public education, because society as a whole would benefit from university graduates who were prepared to be teachers, doctors, engineers, lawyers and professionals in our communities. For nearly 140 years, this societal investment has helped keep education at our nation's public universities affordable to people from all walks of life.
Today, CSU, along with the rest of our state government, faces some serious financial challenges. As one of the few items in the state budget where we -- the voters -- have left our elected officials with discretion among an unpalatable menu of choices for how to balance the budget on our behalf, higher education funding gets hit hard in years when we see a downturn in the state economy.
At CSU, we've taken steps to prepare, including $1.5 million in recent cuts to university administration and preparations for an additional round of budget cuts for this fiscal year and next. We will not be taking across-the-board cuts, and we will attempt to keep the deepest reductions away from the classrooms, laboratories and student services to preserve the excellence of a CSU education.
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