Higher education apathy condemned

By Koran Addo. Three of the state’s most high-profile academic voices offered biting criticism Friday, denouncing an attitude of indifference toward higher education they see from Louisiana’s citizens, business leaders and lawmakers.
Much of the hand-wringing in Louisiana’s higher education community these days stems from the $700 million Gov. Bobby Jindal and the Legislature have stripped from the state’s colleges and universities since 2008.
The budget cuts are at the root of what faculty describe as a wide array of dismal conditions on college campuses, from crumbling infrastructure and low employee morale, to program cutbacks, staff turnover and ballooning student-faculty ratios. More...