Monday, May 22, 2006
Professor Vedder, the economics professor from Ohio University is a real character. If you haven't seen it, this article calls him the Simon Cowell of the Commission on Higher Learning.
I had just thrown him off as a joke after readingan earlier transcript from another hearing in which he seemed to bea crack pot more for amusement than testimonial value. In this commission it seems others take him seriously because he will speak and not hold back what "everyone" is thinking.
I don't necessarily like his thought though on efficiency. With the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania already giving Temple, Pitt and Penn State less, and PSU departments already having a 2% give back university wide, there is little left to cut without hurting programs and services. I wonder if Professor Vedder knows about state budget items such as prisons, and medicare? There are finite amounts of money in state budgets from tax revenues. If Penn State professors were among the highest paid in the Big Ten there might be an issue but they are not, they are somewhere near the bottom.
I had just thrown him off as a joke after readingan earlier transcript from another hearing in which he seemed to bea crack pot more for amusement than testimonial value. In this commission it seems others take him seriously because he will speak and not hold back what "everyone" is thinking.
I don't necessarily like his thought though on efficiency. With the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania already giving Temple, Pitt and Penn State less, and PSU departments already having a 2% give back university wide, there is little left to cut without hurting programs and services. I wonder if Professor Vedder knows about state budget items such as prisons, and medicare? There are finite amounts of money in state budgets from tax revenues. If Penn State professors were among the highest paid in the Big Ten there might be an issue but they are not, they are somewhere near the bottom.
