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Simpson reasserts pledge for access
President says UB is committed to preserving access to higher education
By KEVIN FRYLING
Reporter Contributor
President John B. Simpson reasserted his commitment to improving access to public education in Buffalo, statewide and beyond during an address on Jan. 19 in the Buffalo Niagara Marriott.
Simpson gave his talk, "Equitable Access to Educational Opportunity: Building a Strong PreK-16 Educational Pipeline," as part of a lecture series sponsored by the Graduate School of Education.
He said that UB and other academic institutions nationwide must commit to preserving access to public higher education and ensure students receive the education required to attend such institutions.
Simpson said universities such as UB are "uniquely positioned" to advance these goals.
"This opportunity brings with it the responsibility to lead the way in building a strong preK-16 pipeline: a seamless educational system from pre-school to post-graduate education," he said. "I believe that never has the place of higher education, particularly public higher education, been more critical than it is today, in the 21st century."
Two initiatives Simpson said UB has put into motion toward these goals are increased collaboration between university administrators, faculty and local school systems, particularly urban schools, and a heightened focus on outreach to underrepresented minority students at all levels of higher education: undergraduate, graduate and professional.
"Our enrollment at the University at Buffalo of African-American and Hispanic students still, in 2004, accounts for only 9 percent of our student body," said Simpson. "Persistently low numbers of underrepresented minorities continue in ways I find unacceptable."
The majority of these students come from outside the Buffalo public school system, he said.
Eighty-seven percent of the students in Buffalo public schools are traditionally underrepresented minority students, said Simpson. Eighty-six percent qualify for free or reduced-cost lunches, meaning they are living at or below the poverty line. New York State has the lowest graduation rate for African-American students at 36 percent and Hispanic students at 32 percent, he said. The national average for high school graduation rates is between 85 and 86 percent.
He added that 46 of the 76 Buffalo public schools are designated as failing or in need of improvement by the state or federal government.
"These students are not, in most measures, receiving the kind of academic preparation they need as citizens or, certainly, that they need to participate at institutions such as the University at Buffalo," said Simpson.
He noted that while these statistics illustrate the plight of Buffalo's public schools, others reveal declining support of public higher education nationwide.
UB receives 31 percent of its budget revenue from state tax dollars, significantly below the 2004 national average of 64 percent, Simpson said. Other public universities receive even less, such as the University of Michigan, at 18 percent, and the University of Virginia, at only 8 percent. Moreover, the national average of 64 percent represents a 10 percent decline since 1991, he added.
Some say such developments are "producing a de facto trend toward privatization in this country," he noted. "Privatization of public higher education is being done with no forethought, no plan and no acknowledgement."
In a recent survey of the nation's best universities, Simpson said the University of California-Berkeley was the highest-ranked public institution, coming in at number 20. The top 20 used to be split about equally between public and private universities, he pointed out.
State tax dollars are "absolutely critical" to the core educational functions of a university, Simpson added. UB depends upon them in particular to pay for the costs of educating more than 18,000 undergraduate students and those in the College of Arts and Sciences, he said.
Simpson said continued support of public higher education is crucial because every citizen in the United States deserves to participate fully and meaningfully in higher education.
"I believe people who have had higher education have a much better and more enjoyable life," he said.
In addition, Simpson said nations such as China, India, Korea and Singapore are gearing up their public education systems as part of major national projects. He said China recently graduated 400,000 engineers, compared to 59,000 in the United States.
"The failure to create the educated, highly trained populace that will enable the U.S. to compete successfully in the global marketplace will change, and ultimately erode, the standard of living," he said.
UB already is involved in Buffalo's public education system, through such initiatives as the Center for Applied Technologies in Education, the Center for Children and Families, and the Early Childhood Research Center. Moreover, faculty involvement with area educators extends beyond the Graduate School of Education, he said.
But more initiatives are required.
UB and others institutions nationwide must develop new, creative solutions to the decline in public education, Simpson said.
"Universal public education is extremely valuable and it is necessary. It has a significance and importance to the kind of democratic life we enjoy, which is simply absolutely necessary and critical," he said. "I believe in the value, the primacy and the place of public higher education in this country."