Though Technician’s editorial board won’t say it wants to see Chancellor Randy Woodson in tights, it does want him to be the hero in these economically precarious times. Amid the proposed budget cuts, tuition increases, and stagnant funding, N.C. State’s administrators have been vocal about the challenges ahead and how they have — and will — handle them.
A look back
Administrators have been busy bracing their departments for the worst. As reported in the News & Observer, the College of Natural Resources has identified a potential buyer — who is yet to be named — for its 80,000-acre Hoffmann Forest. The forest is valued between $120-150 million. The revenue from the sale would be reinvested in stocks.
Regardless of whether this is a financially, educationally and environmentally sound decision, it shows desperation. It’s not likely CNR would sell such a massive asset and resource if administrators weren’t worried about future funding.
Last September, the University struck a deal with Eastman Chemical Company. The company agreed to give $10 million in research funding in what is being called an “intellectual property agreement.” The chemical company will have greater control of intellectual property rights from research completed in the Eastman Innovation Center on Centennial Campus, according to the Triangle Business Journal, and the benefit to students will be access to new technology and industry validation.
As another example, the Poole College of Management’s BB&T Program for the Study of Free Markets and Institutions is not only a mouthful, but a means for indoctrinating students too. Its goal, according to the PCoM website, is to “… resolve the disconnection between the perception of capitalism as an immoral economic system and the higher economic standard of living it produces.”
Economics 305, a course supported by the program, purports to help students understand how economic freedom and political freedom are connected. On the other end of the spectrum, PCoM has yet to announce a course called “A closer look at Marxian economics.”
Finally, the Board of Trustees approved a $330 tuition increase effective fall 2013. In the coming five years, the increase is expected to grow to $1,168.
Predictions
Technician sees imminent program and faculty cuts. We can expect to see more partnerships between the University (and its departments) and businesses. But hopefully, administrators will keep student interests in mind while signing contracts.
But not all is doom and gloom. An administrative task force responsible for a strategic plan for 2011-2020 proposed that N.C. State hire more leading scholars and increase the number of tenure-track faculty. It is important that the University hires scholars in all departments, not just for engineering.
Lastly, we expect that the political ingredients in administrative decision-making bubble up and boil over, especially in the short-term. The new state government drew the eyes and ire of students and has, likely to its own chagrin, revived activism. But because students are becoming more politically aware and vocal, the UNC System will likely do more lobbying in the coming year to preserve federal and state funding and keep down costs.
The next year will be an uphill battle. On second thought, textiles students — get to work on tights and a cape with an embossed “R” for “Randy.”
