University of Virginia Library

Holton Hedges On Student Visitor

By Robert Cullen
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Governor Linwood Holton went halfway
towards endorsing the concept of
student membership on the Board of
Visitors in a speech delivered Friday night
to the Association of Virginia Colleges.
But he refused to comment when asked
whether he would appoint a student to
the University's Board of Visitors later
this month.

"My personal contact with a group of
Old Dominion University students indicated
to me how fruitful student
participation in a Board of Visitors
meeting can be," said the Governor in his
first statement on education since assuming
office. He was careful to hedge his
remarks, however, telling the educators
that, "this is not necessarily a recommendation,
but some of you may want to
implement it."

Two students at Old Dominion are
selected to attend all meetings of that
institution's Board of Visitors, but
without voting privileges. Mr. Holton did
not indicate whether he thought that it
would be wise to take the process one
step further and make students voting
members. "The Old Dominion students
are very happy with simply being able to
express their views to the Board," he said.

The Governor hinted that the state's present
freeze on capital outlay expenditures may
continue until he is satisfied that the state
institutions are making full use of their present
facilities. "Have we thought of investigating
how our academic calendars might be changed
to allow some of our colleges and universities to
operate full-year shifts as some other states
have done?" asked Mr. Holton, referring to the
quarter system in use at many state universities.

Mr. Holton further indicated that the
University's priority rating in the competition
for state capital outlay funds may be low. He
cited the opening of 13 community colleges as
one of Virginia's finest educational achievements
in the 1960's and stated that "one of our
aims in the years immediately ahead will be the
completion of the remaining nine," community
colleges envisioned in the original plan.

The Governor also refused to comment
when asked if he would support the restoration
of funds cut from the University budget request
by former Governor Godwin. President Shannon
appeared two weeks ago before the
Appropriations Committee of the House of
Delegates and asked that approximately $5
million be restored to meet the University's
"urgent needs" for the coming biennium.

Mr. Holton cast a benign eye on student
dissent while making it clear that he, "would
not tolerate student destruction. But as far as
dissent goes well, I've got to allow that. My
political career has been based on dissent, even
though the system may look better to me
now."

He stated that he did not, "believe that
much of the so called student rebellion is an
actual revolution "but rather a reaction against
present trends in higher education "the
publish or perish doctrine, emphasis on research
grants, and the erosion of the humanistic core
of education."

Mr. Holton suggested that increased student
participation in university affairs might be one
way to curb this reaction, but the extent to
which he suggested that participation might go
was well within the limits already allowed by
the University. He alluded to curricular reforms
and faculty evaluation as two possible areas of
student participation. In addition, he suggested
that students' talents might be well used in
programs within the community such as
tutoring underprivileged children and acting as
research assistants for the state government.

Representatives of every Virginia college
attended the meeting at the Boar's Head Inn.
The Governor stated that President Shannon
had "tricked" him into addressing the meeting
"back in the summer when I was promising
anything." Mr. Holton's association with
President Shannon goes back thirty years to
their undergraduate days at Washington & Lee
where they were members of the same
fraternity.