Things do not improve. In fact, public support of this new University remains difficult, delaying opening by not one but five years. By that time, the original entering class would have likely already graduated! The originally hired faculty resign.
Throughout this nightmare of financial woes, the founder never loses faith, keeping the dream alive of a new University that would allow individuals to achieve their highest potential unlike anything accomplished before.
Is this scenario ridiculous, fictional? No it is not. The situation described is adapted from a letter by Thomas Jefferson, founder of the University of Virginia, to Dr. Thomas Cooper hired as the first faculty member to teach natural science and law, dated March 8, 1820.
While the cost of higher education has increased, it is a bargain compared to the original graduates at U. Va. In 1828, the tuition, room and board at U. Va. was $233 (~ $4,600 in today's dollars) or about half of the average lower/middle class family income at that time. The current cost for tuition, room and board at a public four year institution is $12,285 or ~26% of the average family income in the U.S.
Today, the reputation of the University of Virginia speaks for itself. Such an august institution has seen less and less support from its state. An April 2010 report states:
"UVa's state allocation has been cut four times by a total of $36.8 million, or 25 percent, including a mid-year reduction of $4.7 million in the current fiscal year." Doing more with less"!
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