Chancellor: LSU must adapt to thrive
by JORDAN BLUM - Advocate (excerpt)

LSU must thrive in a time of budget cuts through increased student costs and by creating new ways to save on purchasing and expenses, LSU Chancellor Michael Martin said Wednesday at a university forum.

The forum, “Leaping Off the Cliff or Over the Chasm: LSU During and After the Recession,” focused on the state’s flagship university finding ways to evolve and thrive during difficult economic times. “I believe that students are willing to make a greater investment in their education,” Martin said.

The chancellor argued that students will pay more in the long run if class offerings and academic majors are cut because they will take longer to graduate. By collecting more revenues, LSU will allow those offerings and the quality to remain and grow, he said. The goal, Martin said, is to “tax students” to improve education quality and not do so in a way that only offsets state budget cuts and “subsidizes government.”