GroshLink

For all their successes, American universities "have the same problem now as in the 19th century," writes Eric Rauchway, a professor of history at the University of California at Davis. The problem, he says in a brief history of state universities, is insufficient financial support from federal and state governments . . . "Through the 20th century," he adds, "the U.S. provided more years of college than other rich nations, and reaped the rewards of increased labor productivity and income." Today, he argues, higher education's "real problem once again is funding," particularly from state governments. The University of Colorado, for instance, now gets only 9 percent of its budget from Denver, notes Mr. Rauchway. Penn State receives just 13 percent from Harrisburg, and the University of California under 20 percent from Sacramento. As a result, students are increasingly being left to deal with higher tuition fees on their own.  -- A glance at The New Republic Online: The poor history of state universities, note:  original article posted at The Lessons of the History of the State Universities.

For a more visceral statement of university life take a moment to prayerfully consider the ideas and thoughts raised by this provoking video generated by a Spring 2007 Intro to Cultural Anthrology Class at Kansas State University (thank-you to Derek for bringing the video to my attention through the College Transition Initiative). 

Helpful for me to keep in mind as I interact on campuses related to the state system of higher education.  Pray for not only the financial burdens, but also the issues of control and performance expectations between administration, state, students, and faculty as we have seen in the PA news over the past several months.  Pray for followers of Christ in these roles to be leaders who are blessing to those they've been called to serve in this important time of life development for students under their care.

FYI: More dynamic class material available at mediated cultures