Come my graduation December 2011 next semester, I can be considered a product of the Louisiana school system.
Despite a five-year stint in private school, 12 years spent in public classrooms doubtlessly had an impact on who I am both as a student and a citizen.
Unfortunately, amid the budget crisis here at the University, my last few semesters here made me rather disillusioned with the opportunities here in Louisiana.
I have read the stories, the opinions, the debates and the diatribes, but no action or written word seemed to do anything more than bolster an already negative academic atmosphere.
Currently, the University’s fate hangs on whether Gov. Bobby Jindal’s Executive Budget is enacted. According to Chancellor Mike Martin’s latest budget letter Wednesday, Jindal’s budget would save the University at least $17 million in cuts. But it’s still uncertain whether this budget will be carried out.
However, the loss LSU has suffered in programs and staff has already had a noticeable effect.
While the University’s current faculty and staff are undeniably committed to delivering us a solid, pragmatic education, the blows to academic morale and camaraderie among those employees have already taken their toll.
As a student, I witnessed the abundant promises of opportunity and success offered by the University founder under the leadership of a state government that does not make education one of its top priorities.
And still, we should count ourselves luckier than our University of New Orleans counterparts, even though their situation seems more desperate than ours.
It’s easy to dismiss our state’s educational leadership, but it’s much harder to offer tangible recourses — true solutions to our problems.
After all, which states value education optimally, and what are the empirical benefits?
What I offer is not necessarily a solution, but more of a case study and example of what another state has been doing for 107 years to maintain a stable state economy and a pristine educational system.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has been considered a public ivy since 1985, offering an education comparable to Ivy League schools like Harvard or Yale University.
With an annual endowment of about $1.4 billion, as opposed to LSU’s $556 million system-wide endowment, UW-Madison boasts some of the most impressive science and liberal arts departments in the country.
Wisconsin’s large investment in its flagship university revolves around what is known as “The Wisconsin Idea,” policies that have turned UW-Madison into a robust source of income and job security for the state.
According to the Wisconsin Idea, “the boundaries of the university are the boundaries of the state,” ensuring a mutually beneficial relationship between state and university.
One of UW-Madison’s largest state-university joint programs is UW-Madison’s University Research Park, an initiative which provides on-campus land and infrastructure to 126 companies employing 3,500 people.
Biotech companies, like Novagen Inc., have literally set up shop across the street, ready to do business with UW-Madison’s biology department.
University Research Park’s success is evident through its planned expansion to over 200 companies with 15,000 employees.
Overall, UW-Madison brings $12.4 billion annually to the state of Wisconsin through supporting 128,146 jobs.
State economists found that for every $1 of taxpayer money invested into UW-Madison, there is a $21.05 return in economic activity.
Considering the academic and economic achievements of UW-Madison, it is easier to understand that any cut LSU experiences is a loss the state will ultimately feel. With every cut made, economic growth though LSU is stifled.
I hope the state of Louisiana and its citizens will one day fully embrace the idea that a state’s prestige is directly related to its educational system and, that its universities should never be considered a fiscal liability.
Chris Freyder is a 21-year-old biological sciences junior from New Orleans. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_Cfreyder.
 
—————
Contact Chris Freyder at [email protected]