On January 12, 2017, the first Thursday of the legislative session, Colleen Taylor (faculty at Virginia State) and Rebecca Pompano (UVA) participated in Virginia Higher Education Advocacy Day at the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond. The theme of the day was “Hands off Higher Education -- Maintaining Commonwealth Support for Higher Education.”
As faculty, we urged our state delegates and senators to resist the temptation to cut funds further from public education: state funding per student already declined by 46% and 31% for 4-year and community colleges respectively, from FY 2001 to FY 2014.(1) Funding for education directly affects the quality of science training that Virginia students receive to prepare them for future careers and active citizenship.
We especially thank Charlottesville's Delegate David Toscano for taking the time to meet with us. We appreciate his strong ongoing support for higher education.
1. D. Toscano, “Politics and The Great Cost Shift in State-Funded Higher Education.” Virginia General Assembly Update. October 20, 2016.
From left: Brian Turner (Randolph-Macon College), Colleen Taylor (Virginia State), Rebecca Pompano (UVA), Gerry Sherayko (Randolph College, President of VA Conference of American Association of University Professors)
Quote visible on the wall of VA state capitol: "Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government." --Thomas Jefferson, 1789.
