As I post this, education continues to dominate the news out of Topeka. The Governor is expected to sign a bill that demolishes the current funding formula for K-12 schools, which will not only lead to significant cuts but also make a mockery of our constitutional commitment to education. However, it looks like the courts may have something to say, so don’t conclude at this point that the issue is over, even for this session.
With that said, for now, I’d like to turn the attention to our institutions of higher education that face similar funding realities. In particular, I will focus on research and our two major public research institutions, the University of Kansas and Kansas State University.
With the recession fading, many states are increasing their support for higher education. So how can it be that the conversation and action out of our State Capitol seem to focus on cutting the budgets of our two major research institutions? Here in Kansas, with no tornado (at the moment) for excuse, we seem to be going backwards and, for some, with glee. Our Kansas Board of Regents recently expressed outrage at the latest Senate budget proposal as noted in a March 11th Lawrence Journal World article.
In the blog posts that will follow, I will lay out the significance of negative attitudes and dollars for university research, discuss the hard-to-believe reversal by leaders of our state following huge bipartisan-supported investments in research, provide some history about how all this took place, and—perhaps most importantly—raise the point that if those Kansans who support these institutions are not speaking up, it’s likely that we’re only seeing the beginning of the harm.
Also in this blog series on higher education: Some Personal Background, Are We Reversing Our Direction on Research?, and It Hasn't Always Been This Way for Higher Education.
With that said, for now, I’d like to turn the attention to our institutions of higher education that face similar funding realities. In particular, I will focus on research and our two major public research institutions, the University of Kansas and Kansas State University.
With the recession fading, many states are increasing their support for higher education. So how can it be that the conversation and action out of our State Capitol seem to focus on cutting the budgets of our two major research institutions? Here in Kansas, with no tornado (at the moment) for excuse, we seem to be going backwards and, for some, with glee. Our Kansas Board of Regents recently expressed outrage at the latest Senate budget proposal as noted in a March 11th Lawrence Journal World article.
In the blog posts that will follow, I will lay out the significance of negative attitudes and dollars for university research, discuss the hard-to-believe reversal by leaders of our state following huge bipartisan-supported investments in research, provide some history about how all this took place, and—perhaps most importantly—raise the point that if those Kansans who support these institutions are not speaking up, it’s likely that we’re only seeing the beginning of the harm.
Also in this blog series on higher education: Some Personal Background, Are We Reversing Our Direction on Research?, and It Hasn't Always Been This Way for Higher Education.
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