PUC professor takes issue with chancellor over funding

Thursday, sept. 8, 2005

By Maurice M. Eisenstein
Post-TRibune guest columnist

In a recent Post-Tribune letter to the editor, Howard Cohen, Purdue University Calumet’s chancellor, called my Aug. 25 column on higher education in NWI “unfair and uninformed.”

The feedback I received from colleagues about this fell into three categories: The chancellor’s comments seemed personal, his comments did not address the issues raised and, finally, only in NWI would a chancellor blast a citizen’s column requesting more funding for local students in our local universities.

The public attack against my professional credibility is inappropriate because Cohen is my “boss.”As far as his motivation, one can only speculate that having gained the political position on the Regional Development Authority from the McDermott family, he has adopted the modus operandi for NWI politicos: when you cannot answer the issues, destroy the personal-professional lives of the questioners.

Cohen states “a political scientist who professes expertise on state and local government affairs, (Eisenstein) knows very well this was not a session in which there were excess revenues available for distribution.”

Putting aside my professional credentials, one did not have to be an expert to know that Indiana’s budget was tight. While the chancellor congratulates our legislators for “helping to minimize our reduction in state funds,” that does not answer the question of why, during this legislative session, only PUC and Indiana State had reductions?Although, ISU remains first in funding.

Chancellor Michael Wartell of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne has raised the following question to the State Board of Accounts: “Why does it take $4,000 (yearly) more per student to educate an English major in Kokomo and Indianapolis than it does in Fort Wayne?”

I ask the same question for NWI that Chancellor Wartell asked for Fort Wayne.Why does it take $4,200 more yearly in public funds to educate a student in Indianapolis and Kokomo than it does in NWI?

IPFW has been in the forefront of developing higher education outside the shadow of Indianapolis.Officials there began student housing at regional campuses; the rest just tagged along. They have become part of the Interstate 69 State Higher Technology development corridor.And, they compete in 16 NCAA Division I sports.

IPFW also receives over $10 million more yearly than PUC (plus three instructional buildings), which is worth more than the RDA and/or Cabala’s in economic development value.

But if PUC can do this for $4,200 yearly less per student than Kokomo or Indianapolis, and $6,500 less yearly per student compared to Lafayette or Bloomington, what are these other campuses doing with all that extra cash?

Don’t be fooled. The extra money isn’t needed for housing or athletics, which have to be self-supporting.

Other campuses get more money per student every year to do what Cohen says PUC is doing with less.Either the other campuses are getting too much or NWI is getting too little.

Underlying this question, NWI’s campuses educate more Hoosier minority students than all other state-funded universities in Indiana.

How is this disparity not racist?

Maybe our legislators and the chancellor are trying to tell us that minority students don’t cost as much to educate?

Maurice M. Eisenstein is an associate professor of political science in Purdue University Calumet’s Department of History and Political Science.

Contact him at [email protected] or 989-2688.