By CYNTHIA McCLOUD
The State Journal
The presidents of West Virginia’s largest state-supported universities asked legislators Tuesday not to cut higher education funding when balancing the state’s budget.
In a joint statement, Marshall University President Jerome Gilbert and West Virginia University President Gordon Gee said the schools would be forced to make up a shortfall by increasing tuition.
“Marshall alone has had $11.5 million in state cuts over the past several years,” Gilbert said. “Another significant reduction in our state allocation will give us no choice but to effectively pass the cut directly on to our students in the form of a sizeable tuition increase. That will be a real hardship for our students, three-fourths of whom are from West Virginia.”
The statement comes several days after leaders in the state Legislature indicated they are eyeing reductions to higher education as one way to address the state’s budget shortfall.
Gilbert and Gee said state allocations to West Virginia’s colleges and universities already have been cut $56.6 million since 2013, and agreed further cuts would be devastating to students and their families.
Gee said, “I realize it may seem easier to cut our way to success. However, the worthier option is to invest in those things that will bring prosperity to our state. The best way to propel West Virginia into prosperity is to leverage its assets. West Virginia University, Marshall University and our sister institutions here in West Virginia are assets to this state. And we remain committed to helping our state’s leaders forge solutions that will drive real change.”
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