Virginia’s colleges and universities sign agreement with VEDP to ‘sell’ Virginia to investors

Virginia’s public universities and colleges signed a ‘memoranda of understanding’ on Monday with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), agreeing to join a marketing campaign to ‘sell’ Virginia to economic investors.


Michael Rao, president of Virginia Commonwealth University, represented his colleagues in the commonwealth, stating that the agreement will progress the goal of “graduating job creators, not just job takers.”

The intent of the agreement is to assist corporate clients comprehend what resources Virginia’s system of higher education offers them, according to Martin Briley, CEO and president of VEDP.

Among the goals in the agreement is the promotion of Virginia’s strengths, including its colleges and universities, in addition to identifying and supporting shared legislative priorities.

According to Virginia Secretary of Education, Laura Fornash, public and private sectors are mutually dependent, so much so that “It is increasingly difficult to have strength and success in one without strength and success in the other.”

For all of Virginia’s sordid policies and ludicrous politicians, economics is one area where Virginia undoubtedly excels , meshing good business sense with sensible strategies for reaching short and long term economic goals.

A lot of folks come to Virginia because there are job opportunities and a welcoming business environment that seeks to foster economic growth and job creation, rather than stifle it.

But just what consequences ‘selling’ Virginia by the state’s public colleges and universities will have on the student bodies in particular is unclear. For instance, in ‘selling’ these institutions of higher education, does the whole get sold to investors or just specific parts?

I remember my time at VCU. The humanities and social sciences took a clear back-seat in terms of funding to the so-called hard sciences like engineering, physics, and biology.

Thus, in ‘selling’ Virginia’s public colleges and universities, will the apparent funding disparity between academic disciplines grow as investors choose to focus on subject areas that are perceived to be better investments?

In an increasingly “efficiency minded” society, will the humanities and social sciences ever retake a portion of the importance that the U.S. once placed in their academic corners?

References   http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/state-news/2012/oct/23/tdmet04-colleges-join-state-marketing-effort-ar-2303710/

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/state-news/2012/oct/23/tdmet04-colleges-join-state-marketing-effort-ar-2303710/

http://www.virginiabusiness.com/index.php/news/article/virginia-falls-to-no.-2-in-pollina-top-10-pro-business-states-ranking/