Virginia students don't comprehend importance of accounting

Washington Post:

While the leadership limbo continues at the University of Virginia, the verdict from students on the ouster of President Teresa A. Sullivan is clear: They feel angry, bewildered and betrayed. 

Hannah Patrick of Front Royal, who just finished her first year at the university, returned here one night last week for a vigil at the invitation of an instructor. She doesn’t know Sullivan personally. She didn’t even know until recently that the university has a governing board that wields so much power. But she quickly gets worked up when talking about what has happened. 

“Sorry. I’m usually not this intense on things,” Patrick, 19, said Thursday afternoon at a restaurant just off campus. “It’s just that everything that I respect and value about U-Va. is wrapped up in this. Over and over again, they stress to us honesty and trust. And then this happens.” 

Most of the university’s 21,000-plus students have dispersed across the state and the globe for summer break. But they have made their collective frustrations heard here loud and clear. What’s driving them is more than just admiration for a popular president. 

News of Sullivan’s ouster, which reached most students via mass e-mail nearly two weeks ago, has prompted strongly worded Facebook posts, chiding tweets, trips back to campus to protest and lobbying campaigns. 

A student-led “Rally for Honor” is scheduled for Sunday afternoon on the university’s iconic Lawn. 

Why such intensity? Typically, most administrative moves and decisions are so far removed from the day-to-day experience of students that it is difficult for them to register a stance, let alone a care. Even tuition increases are announced without much fanfare or pushback. 

Sullivan was highly visible on campus — buzzing around on move-in day in a Smart car, teaching a sociology class and posting videos on YouTube. Still, not many students say they could adequately evaluate her full performance as president, especially her dealings with university finances.

...
 On June 16, the head of the board, Rector Helen E. Dragas, met with a few student leaders to answer questions about the decision. The students pushed Dragas to fully explain Sullivan’s ouster to all students, according to those at the meeting....On Thursday evening, Dragas issued a 10-point statement outlining her specific concerns about the challenges facing the university and arguing that U-Va. needs a new strategic plan. The rector apologized for board missteps but contended that replacing Sullivan was the right move.
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I have always considered Smart Cars an oxymoron, but apparently Sullivan thought they saved money.  She was less successful in devising a business plan for the university that fit with the available cash flow and that led to her being let go.  It is a problem that many administrators are struggling with.  They are resisting becoming more efficient in delivering an education.  The budgets for major colleges have become bloated with courses of little value that do not prepare students for the jobs that are available.  They have been sustained by predatory lending to students who are not sophisticated borrowers burdening them with loans that will be a drag on their future and the economy of the country because they will delay household formation.  Meanwhile the education establishment is living like the one percent.

It is about time that the boards overseeing these institution start demanding some accountability.

Thomas Jefferson is revered at UVa, but it is important to remember that he did not handle money very well either.  He died a bankrupt and his estate had to be liquidated.