|
Delegate Ken Plum's Virginia E-News – December 6, 2006 Commentary
Colleges Prepare for Student Enrollment Growth Kenneth R. “Ken” Plum
The house flag flying at our home this past week was that of Virginia Tech. Our family tradition is that the team who wins the football game between the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech on Commonwealth Day around Thanksgiving time has its flag flying at our house for the next week. With my wife having two degrees from Virginia Tech and my having a graduate degree from the University of Virginia, the rivalry can be intense. It has been increased by our youngest daughter having graduated from UVA and her fiancé having graduated from Tech. Football aside, both schools are superb institutions of higher education among the finest of publicly financed universities in the nation. And they are joined by 14 other colleges and universities and the 23 community colleges that comprise the higher education system of Virginia that Forbes magazine recently identified as being one of the 10 best in the United States. There are challenges ahead in maintaining and enhancing quality while accommodating increasing number of students entering higher education. The Virginia Business Higher Education Council, a private group committed to building support for colleges and universities, provided some startling statistics in a brief report, “College for Virginians: 2012,” which it recently produced. According to their numbers taken from planning documents from the institutions, Virginia colleges and universities will enroll 406,700 students in 2012, 59,200 more than in 2005-06. The expected growth is the equivalent of adding a new institution as large as George Mason and Virginia Commonwealth Universities combined. These institutions will award at least 60,000 college degrees, 8,000 more than in 2005-06. Virginia’s community colleges plan to triple the number of graduates prepared to move on to four-year colleges and universities because a major part of enrollment growth at the four-year institutions will be the acceptance of more transfer students from community colleges. The General Assembly this year passed a requirement that agreements be in place between community colleges and four-year institutions to make such transfers possible. A 2+2 Plan between Northern Virginia Community College and George Mason University has existed for many years with students in the transfer program outperforming in the final two years students who started at the university. Current estimates of the investment needed to accommodate growth while keeping tuition rates affordable is $126 million in additional state operating support each year. We need to make that investment to ensure that our children and grandchildren can expect to attend the exceptional institutions of the Virginia system of higher education. It is important for maintaining the quality of life of our society and for providing the educated workers needed for our high technology workplace. Of course it is about much more than football even with the fun our family rivalry provides. It is about the future of our society, our quality of life and the fulfillment of individual potential. You can count on me to carry the flag in the General Assembly for all institutions of higher education.
* * *
* * *
Delegate Ken Plum’s Weekly “Virginia Report” on Reston Comcast Channel 28
Tonight - Wednesday, December 6 at 10:30 p.m. – Mr. Brooks Cressman, Sierra Club of Virginia – “Facing Today’s Environmental Challenges in Virginia”
Tuesday, December 12, at 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday, December 13, at 10:30 p.m. – Ms. Kerrie Wilson, Executive Director of Reston Interfaith – “Helping Our Neighbors at Holiday Time” * * * ANNOUNCEMENTS
Tonight - Reston Historic Trust will hold a Reston Attic Auction on Wednesday, December 6, 5:30 p.m. at Reston Museum, 1639 Washington Plaza at Lake Anne Village Center. A Silent Auction begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by a Live Auction at 6:30 p.m. with Phil Tobey as auctioneer. Light refreshments will be served. Up for bid are posters, art, books and memorabilia that cannot be archived but have priceless nostalgic value. Auction items will be on display for preview at noon on December 6. All auction proceeds will benefit Reston Museum. Reston Museum is still accepting donations of Reston-related items that may be stowed in anyone’s attic, for the auction, or for the archives. Call the Reston Museum at 703.709.7700 for more information.
Tonight - The Reston Center of Northern Virginia Community College is hosting an Open House, Tour, and Reception on Wednesday, December 6, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Our NVCC campus is located at 1831 Wiehle Avenue.
Herndon-Reston FISH (Friendly Instant Sympathetic Help) is preparing for its annual December Holiday food and gift box drive for needy local residents. Donations of money, non-perishable food items, and new children’s gifts will be accepted December 18-19 at the United Christian Parish, 2222 Colts Neck Road in Reston, across from Hunters Woods Center. Volunteers are needed to collect, sort, and deliver the boxes. Contact Robyn Kampf, Holiday Assistance Coordinator, at 703.860.8804 or robkamp@aol.com if you want to volunteer or for more information. New gift suggestions are toys, books, games, mittens, scarves, hats, and gift certificates from Kohls, K-Mart, and Target. Non-perishable food suggestions are peanut butter, jelly, pasta or macaroni, rice, tomato sauce, soup, dry cereals, juices, and canned goods. Check donations may be sent to Herndon-Reston FISH, Inc., 336 Victory Drive, Herndon, VA 20170. You may also support FISH by shopping at the Bargain Loft at this address where the annual Holiday Shop is open until December 23 and features bargain holiday ornaments and gift items.
The 5th Annual Hunter Mill District Winter Coat Closet operates until February 24, 2007, and is located at the Hunter Mill District Supervisor’s office. Operating hours are: Tuesdays 10 a.m. to 12 noon; Thursdays 508 p.m., and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Enormous community support last year resulted in the distribution of 2,715 coats and 770 hats, gloves, and scarves.
Congratulations to David Poole and the Virginia Public Access Project, VPAP, for receiving the 2006 Excellence in Government Award for Public Information from the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Policy at Virginia Commonwealth University. VPAP is a non-partisan, non-profit group with a mission to improve the public’s understanding of the role of money in Virginia politics. VPAP created an on-line database that details the source of financial support for candidates and how the funds are expended. Visit www.vpap.org for information.
A Financial Fitness 2007 calendar, “Improving the Financial Health of Virginia,” along with other financial services publications are available free of charge from the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants at www.financialfitness.org. Or contact me at kenplum@aol.com – I have a supply of these excellent calendars and would be pleased to send you one.
A new web site provides online access to Virginia hospital charge data as well as access to hospital and health system financial assistance policies for the uninsured and underinsured. VHHA Price Point, www.vapricepoint.org, allows the public to choose a type of hospitalization at any Virginia acute care hospital and see what the charge is for that service. The site contains information on how to contact each facility for financial assistance, and, in most instances, links to the facility’s individual financial assistance policies for the uninsured and underinsured.
Attend “Energy Independence, Climate Change and Virginia’s Future,” on Saturday, December 9, 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Anthony’s Restaurant, 309 W. Broad Street, Falls Church. This will be a discussion about how Virginia can advance energy independence, create jobs, reinvigorate depressed rural economies, and address global climate change by replacing the dying tobacco industry with a biofuels industry based on switchgrass and ethanol. Al Weed, Chairman of Public Policy Virginia, will lead the discussion. The Event is sponsored by the Virginia Chapter of Progressive Democrats of America. RSVP to Todd Smyth at toddsmyth@gmail.com.
Get in the holiday spirit by joining the Reston Museum on Sunday, December 10 for an easy holiday stroll around Reston Town Center to take in the lights and decorations and learn the story behind the skating rink. The walk will include a stop at the Embry Rucker Shelter to deliver a few holiday goodies, and sing a few carols under the leadership of Squire Muse. Head back to Panera Bread for a warming finale. Meet at Reston Museum at Lake Anne Village Center at 2:00 p.m. or in front of the Reston Town Center Christmas tree at 2:30 p.m.
The Fairfax County Environmental Quality Advisory Council (EQAC) has scheduled a public hearing to solicit comments on the state of the environment in Fairfax County. The public hearing will be held on Monday, December 11, 7:30 p.m. in the Board Auditorium of the Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax. The public is encouraged to attend and share views on the state of the environment and to identify any environmental issues applicable to Fairfax County including water quality, air quality, noise, hazardous materials, solid waste, stream valley protection, wildlife management, light pollution, visual pollution, land use and transportation, and the use and preservation of ecological resources. To be placed on the speakers list or for additional information, call the Department of Planning and Zoning at 703.324.1380, TTY 711, or email EQAC@fairfaxcounty.gov.
***************** Authorized and paid for by Kenneth R. Plum.
Unsubscribe to this newsletter by emailing kenplum@aol.com and indicating “unsubscribe” in the subject line. |