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President Daniels (Of Purdue, That Is)

One question being asked in the wake of news that Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is slated to become the next President of Purdue University is “how exactly would he run the school”?   One way to make that determination is to look at what Daniels has done as Governor when it comes to higher education.

I’ve taken a look at the Governor’s positions on higher education over the years and have the  following…

Finances

  • It is no big secret that Indiana’s colleges and universities have had to live within their means since Daniels took office.  His last budget cut university spending by three percent, but provided more dollars for building construction.  However, some have argued his cuts, such as the 6 percent cut in 2006, have led to the rising cost of tuition.  The Governor did look at privatizing the State Lottery as a way to pay for higher education, but that plan was rejected by the federal government.

Credit Creep

  • Daniels has questioned the need for departments at colleges and universities to keep increase the amount of credit hours needed to graduate.  A law was passed last session requiring Universities to get state permission if they are going to require more than 120 credit hours for a program’s completion.  The Governor also signed a bill last session creating a uniform system of numbering for college classes to make it easier for students to know what classes will transfer from one school to another.

Access

  • The Governor has taken steps to increase access to college for high school students and older adults.  He helped bring Western Governors University to Indiana for older students who want to return to college, but time does not allow them to attend a traditional institution.  He has also created an early scholarship program which would allow high school students to attend college in their last year of high school if they have completed all their coursework.

Streamlining Higher Ed Administration

  •  The Governor consolidated three separate state agencies charged with overseeing public higher education policy, college financial aid and for-profit education. The  Indiana Commission for Higher Education (CHE), the State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana (SSACI) and the Commission on Proprietary Education (COPE) were all consolidated  under a unified higher education agency under the direction of CHE with separate boards for public higher education and proprietary education. The goal was to streamline state services, reduce confusion for Hoosiers and promote greater coordination, clarity and transparency across the higher education sector.

Posted: 06|19|12 at 11:54 pm by Abdul Hakim-Shabazz
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  • Pascal

    I’d suggest that predicting what might occur at Purdue will not be easy other than to suggest that Mitch will handle the job. It will be interesting to observe how he removes fat, bloat, and maybe even the mendacity that pervades any so called higher education.  Will a kid, for instance, see a full professor at the head of his class while a freshman? A sophomore?  Maybe even as a Junior?  Will he direct his staff to ABC rates in building construction or waste tax dollars with the lies of the AFl-CIO bs?  
         Handling the job should include a significant reform of Purdue as a University the template having national implications for what are basically overpriced and overvalued barnacles on society.  I will predict, however, that it won’t be long before graduates seeking to teach K-12 will be the most desired graduates of schools in Indiana and will command the highest starting salaries.  (Thanks to Mitch, school boards can pay other than duh union rate).

  • Ramon

    Western Governor University is a for profit business.  Their goal is to make a profit for the investors.   To compare that is a state institution that is taxpayer funded to educate our residents and keep growth steady in the state is way beyond weird.

  • Avigdor

    Well anyone who really knows who will be president is not talking.  And anyone who is talking does not know.

    Thus we will know, tomorrow, on Thursday at 11 am.

    Whether it is Daniels or someone else, what I want is someone who purge the university of the feminists and the progressives.  We need a school that is conservative, that favors males.  As it is now the feminists use the diversity offices as a secret police to rid academia of anyone with conservative values.  And how many older males have been fired at Purdue over the last five years?

    Look, 70% of the PhD candidates nationwide are foreign born, primarily from Asia (India and China).  Why not have a Chinese American who speaks Chinese as president?  Besides the Asians will not be very tolerant of the feminists or the progressives (we are going to see the majority of Baby Boomers retire within 10 years).

  • Wallace

    What about the impact that Daniels had in choosing Tom Snyder to lead Ivy Tech over Carol D’Amico?  Ivy Tech has suffered from the centralization of authority and services under Snyder (who has no graduate degree) as opposed to the prior freedom of each region to adapt to suit the needs of their nearby four-year institutions.  

  • calling BS

    Of course, when you’ve  picked 8 out of the 10 trustees, it is easier to get selected to lead them and still continue to suck on the public tit.   Nothing but corruption here in this pick, and for anyone to think it is a good thing is corrupt also.

  • People Power
  • Ramon

    I think Purdue deserves a no nothing non academic president like Daniels.  I wonder how much money he can get for the renaming of Mackey Arena.   How about Purdue Chase Bank University?  There are so many possibilites.   They key is to appoint the  board of trustees and then demand that they hire you.

  • Cuckoo’s Nest

    Like you need a degree of any sort (gradnut or otherwise) to warehouse pubi-sponsored political hacks…

  • Scooter

    …. and if Mitch was headed to DC to be a lobbyist, y’all would be bitching too.

    A ‘non-academic’ in that position with a big school may just be a GOOD thing.

    I’m not a Mitch fan (AES anybody?), but he has done a couple masterful things keeping Indiana afloat financially.

     

  • Turk182

     Why do Socialist and Communist condemn making a profit, sorta, kinda like it’s the plague?

  • Turk182

     I think department heads will be running scared, education cost have run rampant, these cost are way above the cost of living. Our children’s debt do to loans, have them upside down, before they get started do to the super-inflated cost of our colleges.
    IMO- I think the Blade, aka, Daniels will set the trend for
    college presidents in bringing down the cost of our colleges to be more in-line with the rest of the economy.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/David-Steele/100003244642468 David Steele

    Love seeing Abdul in the pictures in the paper.  He is right up front with his mike in Mitch’s face!!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/David-Steele/100003244642468 David Steele

    They are not socialist or communist anymore.  Rather they are fascists who have their cronies in protected monopolies in industry.

    They just hate that they can not control everything.

  • Meyerdude

    You don’t really care about higher education you just want to make sure people who you have no understanding of aren’t paid more than you. You obviously have not attended a first class higher education college or education based upon your statement “mendacity of so called higher education.” If you did attend college or even high school you obviously did not put it the effort needed to receive a good education, so you look to blame others – teachers, professors, unions. I feel sorry for you.