Even during the worst budget years California’s citizens and
leaders have always recognized the value of higher education. People across the
state, including in both political parties, know that excellence in the
flagship University of California system has been a key factor in the state’s
comparatively prosperous and high tech economy.
The state has now restored fiscal stability and, though many
problems remain, is looking toward a vibrant future.
Given better times, we should expect UC to amp up efforts to
recruit outstanding researchers, especially in the sciences.
Meanwhile, in Texas, appointees of the former and current
Governor are filling board and administrative positions where they are taking
an anti-research stand. They want to lower tuition (and state support) and believe
that cutting any faculty work not connected to teaching is the way to get there
by lowering costs. They also think that removing the distraction of research
will improve student learning—an idea based entirely on speculation.
The legislature
has joined the fray with proposals to adopt “performance funding,” another
unproven idea favored by tax cutters on House Finance committees.
The University of Texas-Austin is stocked with world-class
researchers who can easily move if the situation warrants. Expect it to be a
prime target of California universities, who are also likely to attack Chapel
Hill, where a situation similar to that in Texas prevails.
When the dust settles, Texas will have even lower taxes,
even lower tuition and an economy even more based on cheap land. Meanwhile, California
will keep moving up the high tech ladder.
