It’s dismaying to realize that the grandeur of Berkeley (and the remarkable success of the University of California system, of which Berkeley is the flagship) is being jeopardized by shortsighted politicians and California’s colossally dysfunctional budget processes. Berkeley is caught in a full-blown budget crisis with nothing much in the way of upside in sight. The school is trying to cope with what the chancellor, Robert Birgeneau, described as a "severe and rapid loss in funding" from the state, which has shortchanged Berkeley’s budget nearly $150 million this year, and cut more than $800 million from the higher education system as a whole. This is like waving goodbye to the futures of untold numbers of students. Chancellor Birgeneau denounced the state’s action as "a completely irresponsible disinvestment in the future of its public universities."

Read full article [here].
by Bob Herbert, The New York Times.

Posted: October 3rd, 2009, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.