Executive means

Gov. Bob McDonnell signed his ninth executive order last Friday, establishing the Governor's Commission on Higher Education Reform - a committee dedicated to higher education reform, innovation and investment. This order comes at a critical time for Virginia state-supported universities as public funding for higher education continues to decline in light of the state's budgetary woes. "During the first decade of this century, Virginia's state support for public colleges and universities was cut nearly in half on a per-student, constant-dollar basis," McDonnell said. And in an effort to reduce the impact of these budget reductions for higher education, McDonnell added, "It is imperative we do more to expand access and affordability at Virginia's colleges and universities."\nIn addition to increasing access, the governor indicated that creating research opportunities and exploring new funding methods would be two other focus areas. Each topic warrants considerable discussion, but the public financing issue requires immediate attention. Although the recession limits the General Assembly's ability to increase funding to state colleges in the short term, the commission ought to compare higher education funding in Virginia with other top-tier state college systems across the country, such as California, North Carolina and Texas. Virginia's public universities deserve the opportunity to compete on an even footing with their counterparts in other states.

The commission also must not be afraid to tackle more policy-orientated questions related to higher education, including how to strengthen the quality of education offered at Virginia's universities. Commission members, of course, should be wary of overstepping boundaries - one of the best aspects of Virginia's public colleges is their autonomy in making most administrative decisions. The commission instead can look for ways that the state can support the academic missions of these colleges, as opposed to dictating policy. These measures could include giving colleges more flexibility with their in-state to out-of-state student ratios, in addition to providing stronger channels of communication between colleges and the state regarding public financing. In turn, more communication has the potential to increase consistency and transparency of funding allocations. Moreover, the commission could facilitate interaction among colleges and offering universities resources for partnerships with other public or private organizations.

Thankfully, McDonnell has recognized the urgent need to address the current issues facing higher education in Virginia. The state's universities and community colleges will produce more than 100,000 graduates during the next 15 years, McDonnell said. Institutions with such a strong social function should not be overlooked in favor of more prominent political issues.\n

The Honor Committee's incoming executive committee members should take advantage of their different backgrounds

\nThe Honor Committee elected its new executive committee for the upcoming year this past weekend, and the new members are set to take the reins from current Chair David Truetzel and company April 5. Law student Charlie Harris was elected chair, and third-year Commerce student Whitney Johnson will serve as vice chair of trials. Graduate Education student Maggie Thornton fittingly was elected vice chair of education, and the new vice chair of community relations will be third-year Architecture student Danielle MacGregor. Second-year Nursing student Page Dunbar will serve as vice chair of investigations.

Remarkably, not one of these students represents the College. Choosing Committee leadership from other schools - whose students occasionally feel marginalized by organizations comprised mostly of College students - provides the Committee with the opportunity to strengthen the community of trust throughout the entire University. With Harris as chair, for example, the Committee should be able to further its communication and interaction with the graduate schools. Because undergraduates are often more absorbed in their 'possible to connect with these different communities across Grounds. Building stronger relations with different undergraduate and graduate schools at the University is one example of how the Committee's education and outreach initiatives can have more specific goals and take on newfound significance.