A coalition of business and education officials put Virginia politicians on notice yesterday that voters want the state to invest more in its colleges and universities.
"The people of Virginia get it," said W. Heywood Fralin, chairman of the Virginia Business Higher Education Council and chief executive officer of Medical Facilities of America Inc.
He called the decline in state funding for higher education "a crucial issue lurking just beneath the surface in this year's Virginia elections."
The council initiated a nonpartisan Grow By Degrees campaign to increase by 70,000 the number of two-, four-year and graduate degrees awarded to state students over the next 10 years. The additional degrees would come from high-income, high-demand sectors such as science and technology.
Thomas F. Farrell II, chairman and chief executive of Dominion Resources Inc., said the effort will require a "reliable, long-term funding commitment from the state" that must be codified in Virginia law.
"We're not proposing business as usual," he said. The state must consider "cost-efficient alternative pathways" to a degree such as distance learning and work-study programs.
Only 42 percent of Virginians have college degrees, Fralin said.
But a bipartisan poll conducted for the council found that more than 75 percent of voters say a college degree is necessary to succeed; 95 percent say universities and colleges are important to improving the state and local economy; and 77 percent say greater investment in higher education will bring higher average incomes.
Voters polled also said they are more likely to support candidates who favor higher education initiatives, including a "rainy day" reserve fund to protect against tuition spikes during economic downturns.
In a day of news conferences in Roanoke, Norfolk and Richmond, the council launched a campaign to counter what it termed a dramatic decrease in state funding that is putting public higher education on a course toward mediocrity.
On hand for the Richmond announcement was an array of educators, including the chancellor of community college system and the presidents of the University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth, Virginia State and James Madison universities.
Contact Karin Kapsidelis at (804) 649-6119 or kkapsidelis@timesdispatch.com.
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