Oliver Twist asking for more

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In the University of Minnesota's mad scramble to stop the bleeding a provocative op-ed has appeared by my esteemed colleague, history professor Giancarlo Casale. I urge people to read his important post.

[Prior to the Casale post, I had earlier examined this hypothesis in the post Subsidy for Education and Related Expenses - 2008 data - for 50 Flagship Universities. The data is behind a firewall unless one is a paying subscriber so I have transcribed it below.]

In this Star-Tribune op-ed Casale asks a provocative question that I believe has to be answered in the negative: Minnesota seems to be abandoning its commitment to flagship university. Is it really the case that we Minnesotans now value college education less than the rest of the country?

In order to start a discussion on the matter - in which I will not participate because of the recent intellectual equivalent of drive by shootings - I offer the following:

From the Chronicle of Higher Education:

Institution Subsidy for education and related expenses per student, 2008 U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill $26,373 U. of Washington* $19,575 U. of California at Berkeley $16,165 U. at Buffalo $16,086 U. of Nevada at Reno $14,624 U. of Texas* $14,594 U. of Hawaii—Manoa $14,025 U. of Minnesota—Twin Cities $13,616 U. of Alaska* $13,435 U. of Michigan at Ann Arbor $13,309 U. of Wyoming $13,131 U. of Tennessee* $12,260 U. of Connecticut* $11,818 Ohio State U.* $10,647 U. of Florida $10,587 U. of Utah $9,984 U. of Arkansas main campus* $9,720 U. of Iowa $9,220 U. of North Dakota* $8,707 Rutgers U.* $8,702 U. of Kansas $8,663 U. of Wisconsin at Madison $8,611 U. of Arizona $8,570 U. of Idaho $8,421 U. of Massachusetts* $8,418 U. of Delaware $8,402 Louisiana State U. $8,395 U. of Virginia $8,341 U. of South Dakota $8,146 U. of Kentucky $7,613 U. of Maryland at College Park $7,392 U. of Missouri* $7,246 U. of Nebraska at Lincoln/Omaha* $7,024 U. of Alabama* $6,932 U. of New Mexico/New Mexico State U.* $6,855 U. of Mississippi* $6,757 U. of Oklahoma at Norman $6,657 U. of Vermont $6,148 U. of Illinois* $6,035 Indiana U. at Bloomington $5,953 U. of Maine* $5,823 U. of Georgia $5,235 U. of South Carolina at Columbia $4,368 West Virginia U. $3,912 U. of Montana* $3,842 U. of Oregon $3,792 U. of Rhode Island $3,367 U. of New Hampshire* $2,686 Pennsylvania State U.* $2,373 U. of Colorado at Boulder** $665