Bounds Largely Avoids Consolidation Talks
Higher Education Commissioner Hank Bounds decided not to tackle the thorny issue of consolidation at the university level- either through merging or closures. He did seem to leave the door open when he mentioned the fact that we have had talks in the past “without going very far…This year may be different given the economic uncertainty.” Bounds did add that he was “concerned” for the future of MUW, one of the two school most often mentioned in consolidation talks.
Bounds was asked about the topic during a meeting yesterday to discuss the enactment of the 2004 settlement of the Ayers college desegregation case. Besides saving money via consolidation, he did note that they were being as lean as possible with the budget and they may save money through the consolidation of programs or eliminating certain academic programs at various universities.
