McDonnell creates higher education panel
March, 29, 2010
Richmond Times-Dispatch/Charlottesville Daily Progress
Tags: higher education, mcdonnell, college, virginia, tuition
McDonnell creates higher education panel
Richmond Times-Dispatch/Charlottesville Daily Progress
By Jeff E. Schapiro
RICHMOND — Gov. Bob McDonnell wants a special panel to recommend ways Virginia colleges and universities can produce more graduates.
On Friday, McDonnell signed an executive order creating a 30-member gubernatorial commission on higher-education reform, innovation and investment. Findings are due in November.
“A college diploma is one of the keys to the good-paying jobs of the 21st century, and businesses seek to operate where there are well-educated workers with the skills necessary to make their enterprise successful,” McDonnell said. “With this in mind, it is imperative we do more to expand access and affordability at Virginia’s colleges and universities.”
As the Republican nominee for governor, McDonnell said that Virginia’s community colleges and four-year institutions should produce another 100,000 graduates over the next 15 years.
A corporate organization that promotes the state’s public colleges welcomed the McDonnell-ordered study.
W. Heywood Fralin of Roanoke, a McDonnell political ally who heads the Virginia Business Higher Education Council and is a member of the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors, said the inquiry could lead to “greater economic growth and opportunity.”
In a related development, McDonnell named as deputy secretary of education Laura Fornash, state government-relations director for Virginia Tech.
Fornash, an alumna of the Blacksburg university, is expected to work closely with the higher-education study commission.
Jeff E. Schapiro reports for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Comments
There are no comments for this entry yet.