We want new roads, safer bridges and landscaped boulevards. We also want beautiful airports, abundant clean water and tree-lined trails. Better infrastructure improves the quality of life in our state and communities. State, county and local communities frequently invest in infrastructure projects in the name of economic growth. Inarguably, these physical capital projects are worthy investments.
Unfortunately, we are not observing the same enthusiastic government support for investment in human capital, the measure of our collective knowledge, skills, experience and health to produce economic value. This is a serious mistake, because state and national governments that neglect to invest in human capital place their future economic prosperity in peril.
Oklahomans will be the ultimate losers. In today’s intensely competitive and rapidly evolving world, where economies must have well-educated and trained talent to sustain growth, a failure to invest in human capital will relegate Oklahoma to the consistent bottom tier in health, education, crime and poverty with little hope to ever reverse the tide of decline.
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It is time to invest in prosperity. Education is the pathway to a better future. The benefits of an educated citizenry are many — reduced economic inequality, poverty, crime, and illness and increased social participation and economic opportunity, to name a few.
We know declining revenues the past three years have forced state government to grapple with finding ways to minimize the severity of cuts to essential programs and the resulting negative impacts on Oklahomans. We understand, and we respect the difficult decisions made by the governor, House and Senate in the last legislative session to find common ground and pass a reasonable revenue package.
That said, with the rapid and significant progress of technology, a premium has been placed on producing an educated citizenry equipped with critical thinking and precise communication skills, analytical abilities and curious minds to solve the most challenging problems.
Investing in prosperity means investing in Oklahoma’s higher education system by beginning to restore systematially the more than $274 million cut from higher education appropriations over the past 10 years. This year, we will work with our Legislature and governor on a long overdue raise for faculty who patiently watched, and celebrated, as others in education received raises.
Accessibility, affordability and performance drive our system. Each university and college serves a meaningful purpose, from our two-year colleges to the regional universities to our state’s two research institutions, OU and OSU. It should be noted, in the first five years of the Complete College America degree completion initiative, the number of degrees and certificates earned in Oklahoma has increased by 8,912, surpassing the state benchmark of 8,500 additional degrees and certificates.
As a system of higher education, we recognize we must manage our institutions responsibly. We know we must constantly innovate to remain vibrant and viable. That’s why, as a system, we convened a task force last year composed of 68 individuals from across the state to assess the system and lay out a path for the future. The task force didn’t skirt the subject of structure. They addressed it directly by coming up with a practical, incremental plan to merge boards as an initial step to generate efficiency through shared governance and services.
The investment in people begins with education, because education can produce a large return on many economic and societal fronts. Quality of education matters, from fundamentals through high levels of academia. Prioritizing and funding higher education is an investment in human capital and, therefore, an investment in a brighter future for our state.
Jay Helm is chairman of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
