The TOPS debate continues ...

10/6/09 1:32 PM

I'm on TOPS. It all started when I was a senior in high school. After earning more than a 2.5 grade point average and a decent ACT score, TOPS got me through my first two years of college. I've kept my grades up (for the most part) and I'm still earning my TOPS scholarship today. Lately, amid higher education budget and restructuring concerns, TOPS has been unofficially put on the chopping block. John Lombardi, LSU System president, suggested in a speech to the Baton Rouge Rotary Club recently that TOPS should be a one-time award. TOPS currently pays full tuition for four years to students who qualify. LSU should raise tuition and develop a stronger need-based financial aid program, he said. TOPS is a performance-based financial aid program. According to Lombardi, the...

One board to rule them all ...

9/17/09 9:46 PM

State Treasurer John Kennedy released an opinion column Thursday, calling for the restructuring of higher education in Louisiana. In the piece, Kennedy compared the state’s higher education system to conflicts in Iraq. “Just as the Sunnis fight the Shiites who fight the Kurds for political power and natural resources, the three systems of higher education in Louisiana scrap over turf and scarce taxpayer dollars in a political free-for-all that plays out every year in the Louisiana Legislature,” Kennedy said. The three colleges systems in the state are the LSU System, Southern System and University of Louisiana System. They each have a board of supervisors group and had to deal with funding cuts because of the recession and slumping state revenues this summer. ...

The numbers are in ...

7/22/09 4:30 PM

While the University’s 2009-10 budget cuts plan awaits the Board of Supervisors’ approval on August 27, departments across campus are bracing for the effects of a $19 million reduction in state funding. Among the effects outlined in the proposed plan are 24 layoffs and the elimination of 176 vacant job positions — numbers that could increase in the near future. “As everything settles down and people start to implement budget cuts at the lowest level, more layoffs may come,” Chancellor Michael Martin said. Martin said while faculty and staff members are left to deal with a slimmer budget and mandatory unpaid time off, the effect budget cuts will have on students this year will be minimal. “It has always been our commitment to in whatever...

Dear Louisiana House of Representatives,

6/28/09 9:05 PM

I just wanted to say thank you. Not for helping find a way to reduce cuts to higher education and health care, but for something much more important — your resolution honoring rapper Hurricane Chris. On Wednesday, the Shreveport native and Godson of Rep. Barbara Norton even performed his hit “Halle Berry (She’s Fine)” on your floor, a spot typically reserved for the democratic process. The video of Chris’ rap is bouncing around the Internet like a beach ball at an LSU football game, and plenty of ridicule is being thrown your way. But don’t worry, it’s not like you had anything better to do during those 10 minutes. I mean, we’re only in the middle of a financial downturn, and critical funding decisions were in your hands. And... 4 comments

2009 Legislative Session: Adjourned Sine Die ...

6/25/09 11:45 PM

Latin for "without day," the words "sine die" ended the drama-filled, topsy-turvy 2009 legislative session earlier this evening. Lawmakers managed to compromise on the budget — the session's most talked about issue — and reduced higher education cuts by more than 50 percent. Using dollars from the rainy day fund and other accounts, the Legislature ended up finding $114 million for higher education,  bringing the expected cuts of $219 million down to $105 million. It's still a lot of money, though, and tough budget times are ahead. The Louisiana Board of Regents is responsible for doling out the cuts to each of the state's four college systems. We won't know where LSU stands until a couple of days from now, so stay tuned....