Dragas Says The University Of Virginia Create A $2.3 Billion Dollar Slush Fund

Karen Kapsidelis:

“Privately referred to as ‘unfound money’ (that is, unfound by legislators, the press, and — as a result — the general public), this astounding sum could run the entire University Academic Division for a year and a half. It would pay the four-year tuition bills for 44,000 Virginia students,” she wrote.

Instead, the administration is “hoarding” the funds for other uses, she said, citing as an example a recent proposal for “a $50 million program for self-care training to include journaling, meditation and yoga for nursing students.” She also was critical of salary increases for faculty and administrators.

In his statement, de Bruyn said that the funds that support the Cornerstone Plan “enable strategic investments in our faculty, academic programs, clinical enterprise, research infrastructure and physical space needs that will continue to benefit future generations of students while also minimizing tuition increases.”

For the coming academic year, U.Va.’s tuition increase of 1.5 percent for continuing in-state undergraduate students is the lowest of all public institutions in the state, he said, and U.Va. also reduced the four-year loan caps for Virginia students while meeting full financial need for all students.