I Know U-VA is the Darling School of NoVA but... (lease, houses)

[claremarie]

The top schools in that list are all large state universities that produce thousands of engineers and business majors each year. These are the kinds of students that campus recruiters typically recruit. Most college graduates (even those from highly-selective schools) don't actually find their first jobs as a result of on-campus recruiting; therefore, the rankings are mostly useful to large-ish employers who want to know where to send their recruiters. Not particularly helpful to anyone else.

[ACWhite]

The Wash. Post is reporting that the governor "tells UVA bd. to resolve leadership crisis, or he will remove members."

McDonnell threatens to remove entire U-Va. board involved in leadership crisis - The Washington Post

[ersatz]

The situation is murky to those of us not directly involved with the campus. However, as far as I can tell, the ouster seems to be due to the lack of cooperation from (ex?) President Sullivan to certain politically-connected parties in their desire to change the University from its historic academic standards into a maximum-commercially-profitable internet diploma mill.

A theory of what led to Sullivan's ouster | Anne-Marie Angelo

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by ersatz

The situation is murky to those of us not directly involved with the campus. However, as far as I can tell, the ouster seems to be due to the lack of cooperation from (ex?) President Sullivan to certain politically-connected parties in their desire to change the University from its historic academic standards into a maximum-commercially-profitable internet diploma mill.

A theory of what led to Sullivan's ouster | Anne-Marie Angelo

Although internet diploma mills are what will ultimately make higher education affordable and accessible to everyone. It's an inevitable race to the bottom that Dragas was probably trying to get in front of, albeit in a less than elegant manner.

[ChristineVA]

What I thought was interesting in the WaPo yesterday was in the back of the front page section where people write in. Someone pointed out that all of the members of the board were big business people--there was not one non-profit, public service, etc., etc. person on the board which that person thought was odd. In reading that, I didn't care for that either.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

What I thought was interesting in the WaPo yesterday was in the back of the front page section where people write in. Someone pointed out that all of the members of the board were big business people--there was not one non-profit, public service, etc., etc. person on the board which that person thought was odd. In reading that, I didn't care for that either.

That is indeed odd.

Sounds like UVA has the same starry-eyed infatuation with corporate America that the federal government has taken on--despite the glaring failures of big business over the last 20 years. Not just the careless loss of billions of dollars (e.g., Chase/Jamie Dimon), Enron, the mortage meltdown, or the near-collapse of the auto industry, but also the larger trend of large corporations laying off Americans to move their factories overseas and pulling all kinds of tricks to keep from paying taxes. I consider the latter things acts of treason, and I think big business should get its house in order before it gets to have any influence on things outside its realm, like public universities.

I wonder if the BoV members are appointed by the governor. I google herewith...

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

What I thought was interesting in the WaPo yesterday was in the back of the front page section where people write in. Someone pointed out that all of the members of the board were big business people--there was not one non-profit, public service, etc., etc. person on the board which that person thought was odd. In reading that, I didn't care for that either.

It's the result of Republicans who cater to corporate interests and Democrats who want to look as if they do. Kaine and McDonnell can share the blame for this one.

This could be a good opportunity for us to reconsider how our state universities are governed. I would suggest we change to what they have in other states where there's a single board for the entire system. That increases visibility and should result in a more comprehensive higher education strategy. The current set-up is a bunch of independent fiefdoms that don't work together to best serve the needs of all residents of the state. I'm curious whether that's something the General Assembly can do on its own or if it would require a state constitutional amendment.

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

That is indeed odd.

Sounds like UVA has the same starry-eyed infatuation with corporate America that the federal government has taken on--despite the glaring failures of big business over the last 20 years. Not just the careless loss of billions of dollars (e.g., Chase/Jamie Dimon), Enron, the mortage meltdown, or the near-collapse of the auto industry, but also the larger trend of large corporations laying off Americans to move their factories overseas and pulling all kinds of tricks to keep from paying taxes. I consider the latter things acts of treason, and I think big business should get its house in order before it gets to have any influence on things outside its realm, like public universities.

I wonder if the BoV members are appointed by the governor. I google herewith...

Here are the two write-ins from yesterday's Post:

Lost so far in the discussion of "tumult" at the University of Virginia is the curious composition of the Board of Visitors. All are from business; none is from academai, the not-for-profit sector, the media, or public srvice. Among the three women is the only African American.

Certainly that is not reflective of the state's population. Surely the board represents a myopic perspective on the functions and structure of public eduation. And it is absolutely unrepresentative for a public institution.

I can't help but follow the ongoing saga abuot the removal of University of Virginia President Teresa A. Sullivan.

What caught my eye in the June 20 front-page article was the makeup of the university's governing board. How can a university in which 55 percent of the undergraduates are female have a board of 16 members that includes only three women?

I sure hope that Gov. McDonnell will start to rectify this unjust board membership when he makes his new appointments.

[CAVA1990]

I wonder how much this has affected the prospects of a Romney/McDonnell ticket. Perhaps that's one reason GovBob has suddenly felt the need to insert himself into this to get to a speedy resolution.

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

I wonder how much this has affected the prospects of a Romney/McDonnell ticket. Perhaps that's one reason GovBob has suddenly felt the need to insert himself into this to get to a speedy resolution.

I knew McDonnell was on the short-list for VPs but I thought he was closer to bottom after his controversy with the ultrasound bill.