Cuts will be devastating

Dear Editor:

Louisiana’s higher education enterprise has been under fire recently, and I feel compelled to provide another perspective to this discussion.

Given my 43 years of work in higher education, I know that Nicholls State University, as well as all of Louisiana’s colleges and universities, provides untold value to its surrounding region and to the state by shaping productive citizens, generating jobs and building communities. So, it pains me that $290 million in reductions to higher education over the past two years and another $289 million of cuts that loom in 2012, almost 40 percent less funding since July 2008, threaten the ability of these regional cornerstones to positively impact Louisiana’s future.

The succession of reductions to date has prompted universities to lay off hundreds of employees and issue furloughs to others. Some course offerings have been slashed and degree programs have been terminated, many if not most of them with prospects of never returning. Although efficiencies can be gained through belt-tightening, a continuation of current practice without regard for revenue generation threatens to destroy much of what Louisianans have grown to expect: access to quality education.

Sadly, we are teetering on the brink of destruction. While campuses have been prudent in trimming so as to minimize impact on the academic core, the next round of cuts without any relief will be deadly. Essential academic programs will be reduced or eliminated, and faculty members we have worked hard to recruit will be let go. Students may have to change majors or even institutions to graduate, and they may take longer to do so.

Some say it is “death by a thousand cuts.” However, when one considers the magnitude of the forecasted reduction, the closing of multiple departments or shuttering several academic colleges across the state may still not allow us to meet budget. I say that this has the potential to usher in a “Dark Age” in our state.

Over 100 years in the making, Louisiana’s universities and colleges were created by those who believed that higher education was critical to quality of life and community development, and, today, we are the beneficiaries of this foresight. However, in an era where it may be easier to eliminate rather than to invest in growth or to merely sustain, higher education is at a crossroads.

It is time for all of us to stand up and to ensure a sound economic future for Louisiana by protecting our institutions of higher education. It’s the wise thing to do.

Carroll J. Falcon,

Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs, Nicholls State University