06/21/12: A proud heritage has been stained

This op-ed appeared in The Virginian-Pilot on the date shown.

“It is safer to have the whole people respectably enlightened than a few in a high state of science and the many in ignorance.” — Thomas Jefferson

AS AN ADVOCATE for public education, Thomas Jefferson envisioned a statewide system that would educate the common man rather than just the elite. He was met with resistance in the Virginia General Assembly.

Refusing to fund a plan for primary and secondary education, legislators approved $15,000 in 1818 to establish a state university. On Jan. 25, 1819, the legislature named and chartered the University of Virginia.

U.Va. was the first nonsectarian university in the country. It was also the first to use the elective course system. Other universities of the day trained students to be teachers or preachers; Jefferson wanted to educate in practical affairs and public service. Opening for classes in 1825, U.Va. offered instruction in languages, math, philosophy, chemistry, law and medicine.

Today, U.Va. has the national character and stature Jefferson envisioned. It is the only Virginia university ranked in the top 25 of the national university rankings by U.S. News & World Report. Tied for 25th, U.Va. is one of only three public universities to make the coveted list. It shares the 25th place with one, the University of California-Los Angeles, and is bested only by the 21st place University of California-Berkeley.

Two things struck me in looking at the national college rankings. First was the cost. Tuition and fees for the private universities averaged over $41,000 per year. Out-of-state tuition for the three public universities averaged $ 6,000 less, at just over $35,000.

What public universities offer that private ones do not, though, is savings for in-state students — and those savings are significant: Tuition and fees average less than $11,700. At U.Va., in-state students paid $11,576 in tuition and fees for the 2011-2012 school year.

And then there is the number of students enrolled. The three public universities had the first, second and fourth highest enrollments in the top 25, with only the private University of Southern California slipping in. On average, the public universities enrolled more than three times as many students as did the private universities.

U.Va., the smallest of the three, boasted an undergraduate enrollment of 15,595, more than two times the private university average of 6,868.

Bottom line: Public universities are educating more of our future leaders and are doing so at a lower cost. I think Thomas Jefferson would be proud of that.

As a Virginian, I’m proud of our public college system. I’m proud that our flagship university is a public one. I’m proud that it attracts fine faculty and fine students, many of whom chose to help make Virginia a fine place to live.

I’m not proud of what has happened to it over the past few days. What we have witnessed is doing of the business of a public institution in private. And the stain of that colors us all.