ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, December 15, 1995 TAG: 9512150095
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
A push by the State Council of Higher Education to give some of Virginia's' colleges and universities greater freedom in running their institutions will have to wait.
The state Commission on the Future of Higher Education voted Wednesday not to recommend the move this year to the General Assembly, although the commission did endorse the plan in principle.
``It was just too fast,'' said Del. Alan Diamonstein, D-Newport News. ``They've got a lot to prove to the public before we let them decentralize.''
Under the plan championed by Gordon K. Davies, director of the higher education council, some of the state's strongest schools would be granted complete control over their accounting, purchasing and building operations, and full authority over their thousands of employees.
According to the commission's final report, that would give certain unnamed colleges ``added flexibility to adapt to changes in our economy and the society.''
``We believe that the faculty, administrations and staff of the institutions will assume greater responsibility for the results they produce when they are given greater responsibility for their operations,'' the report said.
Though most commission members said they liked the idea, they followed Diamonstein's lead in voting for further study. The commission is made up of 17 legislators, educators and business leaders, who have been looking at the topic for two years.
Davies said he was not discouraged.
``We're not beyond the rhetoric and politics,'' he said. ``This is a political process. You work things through. The important thing is that the idea is out of the bottle.''
None of the 15 four-year, state-funded schools has publicly opposed the decentralization idea, and the University of Virginia long has lobbied for it. But some colleges have quietly grumbled that the plan would create a two-class system, with the biggest and most prestigious universities given more latitude and power.
Some university officials also feared that presenting the complex issue during the upcoming General Assembly session would divert attention from the colleges' request for $200 million in additional funds.
LENGTH: Short : 50 linesby CNB