I know from experience that during tough budget times, the pressure is on state leaders to cut funding for higher education, and to raise student fees. As a state legislator, speaker of the California Assembly, and trustee of both the California State University and the University of California systems, I faced several budget crises… Back when I started at what is now San Francisco State University, California’s higher educational systems were the envy of the nation. They were a large part of what made this state great; the door that was opened for me was the same critical passage to success for countless others, and together we built California into a powerhouse that led the nation throughout the second half of the last century. Now we’re facing another economic crisis, and we will need the innovators, thinkers, entrepreneurs and well-trained workers that our CSU and UC systems have long produced to help see us out of it. And yet, it is at this same moment that we are considering closing the door to higher education for thousands of Californians. I’m here to tell you that is simply shortsighted. In our haste to seize on solutions to the budget crisis, we could jeopardize our long-term economic future.

Read full article [here].
by Willie L. Brown Jr., The San Francisco Chronicle.

Posted: June 23rd, 2008, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.