pbs高端访谈:公立大学该如何应对日益增强的压力

 　　JEFFREY BROWN:And now: the role and future of public universities.

　　The battle over the top leadership at the University of Virginia came to a dramatic and surprising end yesterday. The university's governing board voted to reinstate president Teresa Sullivan, capping what had been a painful spectacle for a school whose roots go back to founder¹ Thomas Jefferson.

　　MAN:With high honor and great pleasure, yes.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:The move came 16 days after the same board had ousted² Sullivan, leading to strong protests by faculty³, students and others around the state. The precise reasons for the board's initial action were never clear, but were said to involve differences over how fast the university should move in response to budget pressures and changing technology.

　　Yesterday, Sullivan called on all concerned to come together.

　　34.jpgTERESA SULLIVAN, President, University of Virginia: I do not ask that we sweep any differences under a rug, but rather that we engage one another in candor⁴ and respect. All of us seek only one thing, what is best for our university.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:In fact, while the specifics differ, public institutions across the country are facing similar pressures and problems, including slashes⁵ in state funding and increasing tuition rates.

　　The University of California system, for example, was hit with state cutbacks in the last year totaling $750 million. U.C. Davis chancellor⁶ Linda Katehi spoke⁷ to the "NewsHour" about the impact.

　　LINDA KATEHI, Chancellor, University of California, Davis: We are making higher education more of a private good. We are asking the individual families and the individual students to pay for their own education. The time when the state was the main contributor to the cost of higher education is gone. And I don't necessarily see us going back to that.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:Even with Teresa Sullivan holding her job at Virginia, all in all, it's been a rough year for leaders of public universities. The universities of Illinois, Wisconsin and Oregon have all seen top-level changes in the past 12 months.

　　And we pick up on parts of this story now with Gordon Gee⁸, president of Ohio State University. George Cohen is professor of law at the University of Virginia Law School and current chairman of the school's faculty senate. And Anne Neal is president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, an independent nonprofit organization that tracks issues in higher education.

　　And I should say for the record before we begin that I am a tuition-paying parent of a University of Virginia student.

　　That out of the way, Gordon Gee, I will start with you. I want to come to you first as a university president watching this from afar. Can you tell us in brief what you take from what happened at Virginia? What does it speak to for universities like yours?

　　GORDON GEE, President, Ohio State University: Obviously, these are pressure times for universities.

　　And I think that—I think that what this is evidence of is that the fact that there are a lot of changes that are taking place external to universities, internal to universities, and how one aligns⁹ that between boards, faculties¹⁰, staff, student, alumni, and friends.

　　This is an early example of a number of the kinds of pressures that I think we're going to face, because this is a fundamental resetting¹¹ of the American economic system, as you well know.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:Anne Neal, you told us earlier that you generally were supportive of the board at Virginia. What do you think is the most important factor now facing public university? What is the problem, exactly?

　　ANNE NEAL, President, American Council of Trustees and Alumni: Well, I want to say first that clearly the process was deplorable in terms of its lack of transparency.

　　But I do think it's very important that we not let the process eclipse the more important issue, really about the future of public higher education. And I think what we have learned in the University of Virginia situation—and we can look at California and institutions across the country—is that we really are at a defining moment for public higher education.

　　And I would suggest that, if public higher education continues on its current course , that it is, in fact, on a collision course. One of the things that we have noted¹² in our various studies is that, today, we spend two times the average of any industrialized nation on higher ed, but our results are far worse.

　　We're graduating less than 60 percent in six years. A study called "Academically Adrift" looked at the learning gains of college student across the country and found that 45 percent didn't learn or had very minimal¹³ cognitive¹⁴ gain in the first two years.

　　And, as you know, as a tuition-paying parent, tuitions have gone up, been skyrocketing for decades, and I think finally have reached a point where colleges and universities are beginning to realize—and, thank you, board of the University of Virginia for bringing this to the fore—that we start—we have got to start looking at different ways of doing what we're doing.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:All right, let me bring George Cohen in, because you were opposed to the board's original ouster of the president there.

　　Picking up on what you just heard, do you think everyone buys in, first, to the need for a new model, the sense that things aren't working, and a change is needed?

　　GEORGE COHEN, University of Virginia: I think everyone agrees there are a number of problems facing universities, and the faculties that I have talked to are all understanding of that, and ready to move forward and work cooperatively toward change.

　　I think what happened at the University of Virginia was we felt that we had a president who was able to work with faculty and was going to move us toward change, and the board made this sudden decision without consulting anyone, really, including faculty.

　　And what we want is a voice at the table, and we want to be able to contribute positively¹⁵ to constructive¹⁶ solutions to the problems we know we all face.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:There was -- Professor Cohen, just staying with you for a moment, there was this question of incremental¹⁷ vs. rapid change.

　　Does—does—from where you sit, does it feel like rapid change is possible of the kind that we just heard, for example, called for by Ms. Neal?

　　GEORGE COHEN: I think there are a number of problems that need to be dealt with in a number of different ways and can't—there is no simple solution to a lot of these things.

　　So, for some problems, incremental change may be what's called for. For other problems, there may be room for some kind of rapid, rapid change. But I think it's important to note that I don't see anything of the kind of emergency where there can't be a full and open discussion and debate about the things that need to be done, where you can include a variety of experts and different views.

　　We have lots of expertise¹⁸, for example, on the faculty at the University of Virginia, including experts on things like online education, which has been done in a lot of different aspects—areas of the university for a number of years. And we ought to build on that expertise and bring these people in to help create solutions.

1 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

2 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

3 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

4 candor   

n.坦白，率真

参考例句：

• He covered a wide range of topics with unusual candor.他极其坦率地谈了许多问题。
• He and his wife had avoided candor,and they had drained their marriage.他们夫妻间不坦率，已使婚姻奄奄一息。

5 slashes   

n.（用刀等）砍( slash的名词复数 )；（长而窄的）伤口；斜杠；撒尿v.挥砍( slash的第三人称单数 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• They report substantial slashes in this year's defense outlays. 他们报道今年度国防经费的大量削减。 来自辞典例句
• Inmates suffered injuries ranging from stab wounds and slashes to head trauma. 囚犯们有的被刺伤，有的被砍伤，而有的头部首创，伤势不一而足。 来自互联网

6 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 gee   

n.马；int.向右！前进！，惊讶时所发声音；v.向右转

参考例句：

• Their success last week will gee the team up.上星期的胜利将激励这支队伍继续前进。
• Gee,We're going to make a lot of money.哇！我们会赚好多钱啦！

9 aligns   

使成一线( align的第三人称单数 )； 排整齐； 校准； 公开支持（某人、集体或观点）

参考例句：

• HASP SRM fully aligns with the software product lifecycle. HASPSRM完全遵循软件产品的生命周期。
• Significant employee aligns the interests of our employees and our shareholders. 员工大量持股可以使员工与股东的利益协调一致。

10 faculties   

n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院

参考例句：

• Although he's ninety, his mental faculties remain unimpaired. 他虽年届九旬，但头脑仍然清晰。
• All your faculties have come into play in your work. 在你的工作中，你的全部才能已起到了作用。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 resetting   

v.重新安放或安置( reset的现在分词 )；重拨（测量仪器指针）；为（考试、测试等）出一套新题；重新安置，将…恢复原位

参考例句：

• Range represents the maximum strain which can be recorded without resetting or replacing the strain gage. 量程表示无需重调或重装应变计就能记录到的最大应变。 来自辞典例句
• Adding weight to the puddle jumper by resetting its inertial dampeners. 通过调节飞船的惯性装置来增加重量。 来自电影对白

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

14 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

15 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

16 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

17 incremental   

adj.增加的

参考例句：

• For logic devices, the incremental current gain is very important. 对于逻辑器件来说，提高电流增益是非常重要的。 来自辞典例句
• By using an incremental approach, the problems involving material or geometric nonlinearity have been solved. 借应用一种增量方法，已经解决了包括材料的或几何的非线性问题。 来自辞典例句

18 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。