COMMON WEALTH OF VIRGINIA
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION
OPENING REMARKS TO THE GOVERNOR’S BLUE RIBBON COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION
The Honorable Wilbert BryantSecretary of Education
Hotel Roanoke
Roanoke, VA
September 8, 1999
COMMON WEALTH OF VIRGINIA
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION
OPENING REMARKS TO THE GOVERNOR’S BLUE RIBBON COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION
The Honorable Wilbert BryantGreetings
Thank you Elizabeth for that kind introduction. And, good morning to my fellow commission members.
Chairman Flippen, let me begin by thanking you for the invitation to open today’s meeting on governance. This is possibly the most important component of our system of higher education. By saying that, I do not mean to lessen the importance of providing a quality education for all Virginians. But, as Chief of Staff Boyd Marcus stated at our July meeting, after our work is completed, most of the recommendations we put forward on issues like quality and affordability, will be left to the Boards of Visitors to implement.
Pride in Our System
Clearly, we can be proud of Virginia’s system of higher education. The latest rankings by U.S. News and World Report, once again, placed several of Virginia’s colleges and universities among the best in the nation. The University of Virginia and the College of William and Mary continue to be among the top on the list. U.VA is ranked just behind the University of California at Berkeley while William and Mary is ranked 6th, up from seventh in last year’s rankings, and just behind UNC-Chapel Hill.
Virginia Tech, ranked 40th among national public universities in last year’s rankings, jumped all the way up to a tie for 28th. James Madison and Mary Washington maintained their No. 1 and No. 2 rankings, respectively, in the category of southern regional public institutions, while Longwood moved up two slots from ninth to seventh in that category. Dr. Cormier, I know that you are pleased with ninth to seventh in that category. Dr. Cormier, I know that you are pleased with this good news, and I congratulate you for your hard work in making Longwood College a household name.
But what we can be especially proud of, is the fact that two of our institutions that are not necessarily household names, Christopher Newport University and the University of Virginia’s College at Wise, are tied for No. 2 among southern public liberal arts institutions. As a result, CNU and UVA-W should find themselves added to the list of perspective colleges not only for Virginia high school students, but also students from outside our borders. The Presidents of both institutions have expressed to me a desire to broaden their pool of applicants. This high profile endorsement of both institutions should go a long way toward helping CNU President Paul Trible, and UVA-W Chancellor Jay Lemons, reach their goal.
The Responsibilities of Virginia’s Boards of Visitors
I think it is safe to say that our Boards of Visitors have played a key role in the recognition that Virginia’s system of higher education is one of the best, if not the best, in the nation. Because one of Governor Gilmore’s top priorities is insuring that our system continues to lead the nation into the 21st century, it is accurate to say that it will be the responsibility of the Boards of Visitors to achieve this goal. As appointees of the Governor, they are the only control that he has to ensure our institutions carry out their duties in a manner that is consistent with his policies.
To illustrate this point, let me share with you Section 9-6.25 of the Code of Virginia, regarding classification of executive branch boards, commissions and councils. A Board of Visitors is a supervisory board. Section 9-6.25 defines supervisory as: "A board, commission, or council shall be classified as supervisory if it is responsible for agency operations including approval of requests for appropriations. A supervisory board, commission, or council appoints the agency director and ensures that the agency director complies with all board and statutory directives. The agency director is subordinate to the board."
This means the President works for the Board, not the other way around. Now, let me emphasize that I believe all of our college and university presidents are outstanding individuals, and our fellow commission members, Drs. Cormier and Merten, can confirm that I have expressed this to each of them. Further, I believe all of our college presidents want what they believe is in the best interest of their students, but in some instances, their priorities may not always be the priorities of the Governor.
Carried to the next logical step, as an appointee of the Governor, board members should realize that just because the president believes something is a good idea does not make it so. There should be times when Board members ask the president: "How does this policy meet the Governor’s goal of an affordable high quality education? How does this proposal meet the Governor’s goal of making institutions more accountable to the taxpayers of Virginia?" Or, "How can we meet these goals by doing business in new ways--within existing resources?"
Governor Gilmore addressed the April 1999 Board of Visitors training session. He received quite a bit of media coverage for addressing the issue of boards approving "back-door" increases in non E & G mandatory fees, in turn, diluting the savings the he successfully guided into law during the 1999 session of the General Assembly.
I picked up that theme when I addressed the training session in the afternoon of that same day. I told the board members that should the issue of fee increases come up, they would probably be told that increases are necessary and that the institution would self-destruct if they were not approved. I urged the Board members to question that thinking. I asked them to see if there is excess that can be reduced in other areas. That is a board member’s responsibility to Governor Gilmore, to the parents and students who pay for the education, and to the taxpayers that subsidize the institutions.
Board members should study every aspect of the institution’s budget, and determine what is fat and what is muscle. Only after they are completely satisfied that the budget contains zero body fat, should they consider raising the cost of attending the institution.
Advice was taken
I know that board members heeded this advice because several of the institutions that were considering fee increases scaled them back after the Governor made his views on the issue clear, and board members scrutinized the requests. In fact, only Richard Bland College and the Virginia Community College System held the line on non E&G fees.
Now, you may say that two year institutions do not have the same needs or demands for funds as those common to the senior institutions. For those of you who actually believe that, take a look at the budget request of our two-year institutions, then tell me they don’t have the same desires for funding as the senior institutions.
High quality representation
We have several board members on this commission. I will refrain from naming them for fear of leaving someone out, except to say that Chairman Flippen, and today’s moderator, Elizabeth McClanahan, are two examples of these dedicated people.
As we listen to the presentations today I ask that you keep in mind Governor Gilmore’s words, reinforced by Boyd Marcus at our last meeting, regarding Boards of Visitors.
"The people of Virginia elect a Governor to serve them. It is in the name of the people that the Governor appoints men and women of distinction to govern our colleges and universities. Boards of Visitors are stewards of public resources and the public trust — they are accountable to the people — and they speak for their
Governor Gilmore has charged us with making our boards "true governing boards." That is the purpose of today’s meeting. I look forward to a lively discussion of this issue.
Mr. Chairman, thank you again for the invitation to open today’s meeting.
Posted: September 9, 1999
By The
Educational Policy Institute of Virginia Tech
sjanosik@vt.edu
