Some 10 weeks back, the state political establishment embraced Hank Brown as its consensus choice as the new president of the University of Colorado. The Boulder campus was snagged in politically charged waters, and CU would benefit from fresh leadership. Brown casts a large shadow, and he answered the call.
His tenure doesn’t begin until Aug. 1, but Hank, you ought to step in now.
Brown can smooth the negotiations between CU and Gov. Bill Owens on a tuition compromise that allows the school to collect the extra $43 million in revenue that the state OK’d this past spring.
Owens balked when CU proposed raising some of that extra revenue by increasing in-state tuition up to 28 percent, or $966 a year, instead of saddling out-of-staters with more of the burden. (As it is, CU’s proposed 6 percent hike on non-residents equals $1,308 a year, and CU says at $21,900, its tuition has reached a free-market ceiling.)
Brown gave a brief statement this week when CU offered to reduce its tuition increase to 15 percent for Colorado families that earn less than $80,000 a year. “I fully support the enhanced financial aid proposal developed by President Hoffman and the Board of Regents,” he said. “This plan will ensure that Coloradans continue to have access to a world class institution right here at home.”
CU modified its proposal out of fear that state officials would impose tight tuition caps next year if they went forward at 28 percent. But the plan was nixed by Owens and then the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee. CU seeks a resolution that would still allow for greater revenue to make up for years of state budget cuts.
The JBC sent CU back for talks with the governor and his education advisers.
Had Brown, and not CU president Elizabeth Hoffman, offered the plan, would it have been more palatable to the politicians? No one knows for sure. But Hoffman is a lame duck and so doesn’t enjoy much clout. In contrast, Owens has every reason to want Brown to succeed, and this ticklish issue, so important to Colorado families, seems like a good place to start.
“There’s been a feeling Gov. Owens has been long on criticism and short in actual solutions,” Regent Michael Carrigan said. “We remain open to any proposal to help us raise the revenue the governor authorized that maintains our excellence.”
The university and the governor have been singing off different sheets of music. Brown should raise his voice and provide the harmony.
