Losing Faith - The Daily Californian:
"Facing an increasingly unhelpful (and unreliable) partner in the state government, the University of California is gradually turning to other sources for needed funds. Though ideally public support would be sufficient to fund the university, the decision to seek more private donations demonstrates that administrators are taking the necessary steps to address budget cuts in a realistic way.
On Friday, UC President Mark Yudof announced the kick-off of Project You Can, a systemwide scholarship campaign to raise $1 billion in four years for financial aid. This effort is unprecedented, given that the campuses collectively raise only about $100 million annually in private donations to support students and it indicates how doubtful university leaders are that they can count on government support. And with reason-there's little extra money going around in Sacramento for anything, let alone for a low priority like higher education."
"Facing an increasingly unhelpful (and unreliable) partner in the state government, the University of California is gradually turning to other sources for needed funds. Though ideally public support would be sufficient to fund the university, the decision to seek more private donations demonstrates that administrators are taking the necessary steps to address budget cuts in a realistic way.
On Friday, UC President Mark Yudof announced the kick-off of Project You Can, a systemwide scholarship campaign to raise $1 billion in four years for financial aid. This effort is unprecedented, given that the campuses collectively raise only about $100 million annually in private donations to support students and it indicates how doubtful university leaders are that they can count on government support. And with reason-there's little extra money going around in Sacramento for anything, let alone for a low priority like higher education."