Mergers possible

Mergers involving several of Mississippi’s eight public universities seem likely after a budget proposal submitted by Gov. Haley Barbour Monday.

The budget proposal contained suggestions to merge Alcorn, Valley State and Jackson State University into one entity under the auspices of JSU.  It also proposed Mississippi University for Women be taken under the umbrella of Mississippi State.

“What we’re seeing now is the full brunt of a soft economy, and state government must react accordingly,” Barbour wrote in the proposal. “Clearly, business as usual won’t keep essential services operating, and it won’t work for the taxpayers. This budget crisis is real, and we cannot delay making difficult, long-term budget decisions.

“I believe mergers are preferable to closures.”

The governor is required by law to submit a budget proposal for the legislature to debate during its session that starts in January. Barbour said he hopes the legislature will “bite the bullet” so that any consolidation plans can be put in place before the 2011 elections.

In a Hattiesburg American article, the Democratic chairman of the House Universities and Colleges Committee, State Rep. Kelvin Buck of Holly Springs, said he opposes the Republican governor’s proposal. Buck said Mississippi would hurt its own economic future by limiting higher education.

“While the state is clearly experiencing some of the most difficult times in our modern history, it is not the time to panic and undermine the very economic engine that can greatly enhance our ability to rise above the recession,” Buck said.

MSU student Tre’ Watts said  he thinks the merger is a good idea fiscally, but he is concerned classes could be split up between the two locations. 

“I am not opposed to the merger, but I would hate to suddenly have to drive to Columbus every other day to attend certain classes,” Watts said.

The Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning is currently waiting before they form an opinion on whether mergers are a good idea.

“We have asked all the college presidents to come back to us in January with their plans to save money in every way possible,” said Leah Rupp Smith, spokesperson for the Miss. IHL. “It is clear that we can’t ‘efficiency’ our way out of this, and they are going to have to go a little further than pooling their resources and turning off all the lights when they leave the building, especially when the federal stimulus funding ends in 2012.”

Rupp Smith added that the IHL was one of the first state agencies to sense the oncoming financial crises and start planning accordingly, putting them in a better position than many.

The proposed merger of Alcorn and MVSU under the control of JSU is expected to be a much more difficult sell, as it touches on the still sensitive topic of race.  For his part, Barbour said he was not worried that his proposal to merge the historically black universities would appear racially insensitive. The decision, he said, was based on the best option for administrative consolidation.

Alcorn’s Student Government Association president Ryan Martin was quoted in the Clarion Ledger as saying, “I just think it’s not a well-thought out decision.  I think (Barbour) should come up with some more innovative ways.”

Martin also pointed out each of the universities’ unique missions: Alcorn was started as a land-grant institution, Jackson State is an urban university and Valley serves the impoverished Delta region.  Martin summed up his opinion by stating, “These are unique universities, you can’t just look at the money.”