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State of the Campus Address I am a first-generation college graduate. I know how fortunate I am to have received a college education that allowed me to grow intellectually, expand my abilities, and then serve others as a physician and educator. Americans have always held high educational aspirations for their children, and their expectations have increased from generation to generation. In addition, the need for a highly educated labor force grows with each new decade. However, higher education comes with a price — and not everyone has been able to afford that price tag. Over the years, the federal government has implemented several plans, such as the G.I. Bill, National Defense Education Act, and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to help many Americans reach their goals of pursuing higher education. In particular, the Higher Education Act of 1965 focused on strengthening the educational resources of our colleges and universities and providing financial assistance to students. Thus, in the minds of most people, a college education was viewed as a "social good" that would benefit American society as a whole. Over time, every state developed a department of education and enacted laws regulating and financing higher education. Let me give you an example from California. The 1960 California Master Plan for Higher Education was the direct result of projected huge increases in enrollment demand, rising costs for California taxpayers, and continuing battles between the University of California and the state colleges over program and enrollment growth. The California Master Plan included many impressive recommendations and goals on key higher education issues such as development, expansion, investment, mission, governance, student access and most notably, free tuition for residents at the state's public institutions. But as American society changed and became more complex, a college education came to be viewed more as an individual benefit, rather than a social good. Economic realities, rather than philosophical principles, now drive the pursuit of higher education. Colorado is a prime example. We have experienced this phenomenon first-hand over the past several years. Funding for higher education has been dramatically reduced in response to the state's fiscal woes. Competing interests for tax support among publicly funded entities, such as transportation, Medicaid, prisons and K-12 education, have diverted resources from public higher education. In Colorado, higher education historically has been funded at low levels. In recent years, even that support has been eroded by constitutional amendments, such as TABOR and Amendment 23, along with the state's economic downturn. Yet, in Colorado, higher education continues to operate as if it's still a free, subsidized good — and our citizens and public officials seem to think so, too. But that vision of public funding of public universities no longer holds true — if it ever did. The new reality about funding higher education — and the growing role of individual and family responsibility — has yet to be faced.
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