26th Biennial Institute
Monday, December 8, 2008
Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr.
Athens, Georgia
Video of Chancellor Davis’ speech
Thank you, Rep. Burkhalter. On behalf of the Board and the System, I appreciate what you and your colleagues in the House do for Georgia and public higher education. And to Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle, your hard work and the work of the Senate are deeply appreciated. Finally, we appreciate the good partnership and support of Governor Perdue as we work to educate more Georgians to higher levels than in the past.
This Biennial Institute is a great example of how the System works to fulfill its public service mission, and so let me thank Steve Wrigley and your staff for all that they do for this Institute. Let me also recognize our current Board of Regents Vice Chair, Regent Bob Hatcher, who is present today.
My first opportunity to participate in this great public service program was two years ago. At that time, I was still a rookie – both to Georgia and to the University System. Unfortunately, I can’t use that excuse any longer! Having been through three legislative sessions, I now refer to myself as a grizzled and slightly shorter veteran. I was 6 foot four before my first session.
Seriously, I have had the great pleasure of working with many of you in Atlanta and all across this great state. And through this interaction, I have an even greater and deeper appreciation for Georgia and for the dedicated and talented individuals who work to improve the lives of its almost 9.5 million citizens. Let me thank each of you here — for your willingness to serve this state.
Public service is hard work — it takes time and a tremendous toll on your life, your family, and your occupation. My father was an elected state official in Pennsylvania, so I have experienced many of your challenges first hand. You have to make tough decisions — you take a lot of grief and get very little praise.
So, again, I want to make it clear, on behalf of the Board of Regents and University System that we truly appreciate your service. And, as never before, I appreciate your service in what is shaping up to be one of the toughest economic climates any of us have experienced. Whether you are a long-serving legislator or a freshmen, the decisions that await you come January will be defining moments for you personally and for the future of this state. You will crystallize like never before the real priorities for this state.
Georgia, of course, has a long history of tackling the tough issues and making sound decisions for the long-term stability of the state. I have no doubt that you will carry this tradition of good government – of sound government and wise decisions – forward. As chancellor, I pledge to you my candid and responsive collaboration as you seek data, information, and insights to help inform your future actions.
With this backdrop, let me move to the theme of my message today. And that theme is Georgia’s history of responding to present situations with an eye to the future. This pattern has served the state well and should guide us as we make decisions today with our aim, not just on current events, but on the future we want to leave for our children and grandchildren. And nowhere is the wisdom of this philosophy better illustrated than in the history of the University System of Georgia.
As I was thinking about my comments today, I noted that one year after my arrival, the University System of Georgia celebrated its 75th anniversary. And at that time, we noted in our materials the circumstances surrounding the creation of the System by then Governor Richard Russell and the General Assembly. The System was formed in the midst of the Great Depression.
It would have been very easy for Gov. Russell and the legislature to put off big plans with long-term payoffs. No one would have criticized them for focusing solely on the pressing needs of the moment. But this was not the attitude at that time. Despite the terrible economic conditions, Georgians made the decision to create a unified system of public colleges and universities under a single governing board.
Thus was born, now 76 years ago, in this time of great crisis, Georgia’s best hope and wisest investment in the future of its citizens – the University System of Georgia. And in the decades that followed, successive governors and General Assemblies have sustained and supported this great system. The efforts of your predecessors and now, you, have created an outstanding network of 35 public degree-granting colleges and universities that today educate more than 283,000 students and contribute $11 billion annually to the state’s economy.
Despite the changes since 1932, today we are again in tough economic times that have some recalling those earlier times. But if nothing else, the example from 1932 should help us to follow the wise course. That is – look ahead to the future. Do not let the urgent push aside the important. Make the right decisions for that future, despite whatever storm in which we currently find ourselves.
Let me reassure you, within the University System of Georgia, we are managing through these tough times. We are not going to sacrifice the quality of our academic programs – we cannot and we must not. This is the philosophy that guided the Board’s actions last week to meet the eight percent reduction. Instead of cutting into that academic quality in the classroom, we have asked our employees and students to help out in maintaining that quality so essential to the future success of our students.
And let me make an additional comment regarding our temporary student fee that we have adopted. We cannot lose sight of the fact that historically, Georgia has very low tuition compared to other states. That is due to the strong support of the Governor and General Assembly of public higher education.
And as I thought about our tuition and what a value it is, this analogy came to mind that gives anyone who drives a car or truck and has to fill up the tank some perspective. If the cost of Georgia 4-year public college tuition was like the cost of gas, we would be charging only $1.50 a gallon compared to an average of $2.15 a gallon in all our comparison southeastern (SREB) states. This is the lowest price around. Even with adding the temporary $100 a semester additional fee, our cost only goes up .09 a gallon to $1.59 a gallon, still making Georgia the best deal.
Georgia is also only one of two SREB states with two schools ranked in the US News and World Report Top 20 public institutions – Virginia is the other. Virginia’s cost is even higher than the southeastern average at $2.87 a gallon. Not only are we are at the bottom in our costs, but we’re selling premium. Tuition – and earning a college degree – is a tremendous value in Georgia – and continues to be so.
Previous to the board’s actions last week, we have made some short-term decisions, such as cutting travel, cutting maintenance, cutting classes and delaying technology and library purchases. But these are not the decisions one makes for the long-term. These are the “eat your children” level of decision-making.
We are in the business of educating our children – of preparing the next generation of leaders for Georgia. We are managing considerable risks, and these go far beyond the risks of longer wait times in for a driver’s license, or on the phone. We are managing the risks of Georgia’s future. That’s a long-term project and we absolutely must get it right. Our future depends on it. This responsibility – of educating Georgia’s future – is one that you and your constituents expect us to meet.
And we are meeting it – we will continue to meet it in a way that is responsive to the needs of this state and its students. We will meet this in a way that respects the resources that are available as well as the many competing demands upon those resources.
For example, in the University System today, we know our core mission: teaching, research, and service. That’s been our mission since 1932. But how we fulfill that mission is one that is always under discussion, negotiation and evolution. That’s what good managers and good leaders do – constantly assess and reassess where we are and if the tools in place are appropriate for the moment and, more critically, to propel the organization to where it needs to be for the future.
Just this past week, I and others in the System met with two Senate committees on this topic of how best to meet our mission. It was an engaging and, as they say in US State Department lingo, “a full and candid exchange of ideas.” But that’s what makes our democracy great – the constant examination of how things get done and the exchange of ideas that lead to new processes.
And one of the evolving areas for the System – though common in the private sector – is that of defining what is unique and what is not. My philosophy is that what occurs in the classrooms and laboratories of our colleges and universities is truly special. And our 35 institutions all have unique and special missions.
Therefore, all those activities that define our institutions should remain at those institutions. But everything else is a candidate for consolidation and standardization. Our Shared Services project is consolidating as a first step all our separate payroll departments into a single function. This model will focus next on areas such as purchasing, accounts payable and receivable and other back office functions.
We need to be in the business of educating Georgia’s future. We do not need to be in the business of maintaining 35 individual functions for areas such as payroll. We will consolidate and standardize and pour the savings back into our primary mission of teaching, research and service.
In short, we will strive to fulfill the wisdom and the promise of those Georgians who in 1932 created a unified system of public higher education. The Board of Regents has been entrusted by Georgians with a unique governance model that is truly the envy of many states. We must use that model to the fullest – we must act to realize its full potential.
That is what we are working to do in many, many areas – not just in back office operations. Whether in meeting the state’s need for more health care professionals, or teachers, we are harnessing the power of the System to increase output while maximizing the efficient use of our resources.
Of course, to be successful in this effort, as with most efforts, means it cannot be a solo effort. We need and are appreciative of the support and partnership of so many individuals and organizations in Georgia. And our major partners are, of course, the legislative and executive branches.
This partnership is based upon the shared knowledge that no state can truly be great without a great system of public higher education. We are the engine that helps Georgia move forward. We touch the life of every Georgian. We educate your children. We provide technology for your workplaces. We cure diseases and treat the sick. We provide service leadership in your communities.
But moving forward still takes leadership and vision to see that far distant shore. It has been Georgia’s unique good fortune to enjoy leadership that could always see past the current situation and plan for that future. It has been Georgia’s fortune to have leaders that had the courage to act in the present with decisions aimed at that future.
The evidence for this claim can be found in the decision to create the University System of Georgia in the midst of the Great Depression 76 years ago. That’s a decision that has added tremendous value to Georgia and its citizens in the ensuing decades. A decision made in 1932 has made this University System the envy of the nation in 2008.
And so, with an ever-stronger sense of confidence, those of us privileged to work for our students in the University System are committed to the task of educating more and more Georgians to higher levels than in the past. We are committed to working with you to achieve these goals – both today and for the future. Thank you for your dedication to this great state, and to your partnership with and support of the University System of Georgia and its 283,000 students.