State board announces college construction freeze
Wednesday, September 29, 2010 at 5:58PM By Anna Douglas
A state-wide freeze on college construction projects is a reminder of the “new reality” facing higher education, President Anthony DiGiorgio wrote in an e-mail to students today.
The South Carolina Budget and Control Board voted unanimously today to freeze construction at four-year colleges that raised tuition 7 percent or more this year.
Winthrop’s tuition hike was 4.9 percent.
The decision will not impact Winthrop, DiGiorgio wrote, because the university does not have any construction pending and the recent increase in tuition does not meet the threshold set by the budget and control board.
The freeze will also not affect Phelps Hall, which is currently closed for renovation, he wrote.
Universities that increased tuition 7 percent or more this semester can remove themselves from the freeze if they decrease their tuition for the spring semester.
The moratorium on construction also applies to two-year school that increased their tuition by 6.3 percent or more.
“Today's freeze follows Tuesday's "summit" on higher education convened by Governor Sanford, wherein he presented his often-offered criticisms of higher education, but found many in the higher education community members present were willing to challenge both his opinions and the accuracy of much of the data presented,” DiGiorgio wrote in his e-mail.
Winthrop Board of Trustees Chair Kathy Bigham and Council of Student Leaders Chair Sydney Evans, among other representatives, attended the summit on behalf of Winthrop.
DiGiorgio wrote: “Ms. Bigham was one of several people who addressed the governor's panel, indicating that many in higher education have felt for some time as if ‘we are being treated as the enemy,’ when her time on the Winthrop board has convinced her that higher education is really ‘the engine and energy’ of the state's future and American economic recovery. Similar sentiments were expressed by a number of trustees from other institutions as well.”
