My original point of concern with regards to the expenditures of huge sums of money for cutting edge computer labs is that some research and justification should occur in moving forward with these expenditures. I have several concerns here.
Capital expenditures are frequently the easy sell even if it is a multi-million dollar cost.
The fallacy is, as many pointed out, that universities are frequently unwilling or unable to hire technical support. I believe that the majority of professionals in practice or graduating between now and the end of the century may never see a silicon graphics workstation, have a client that can afford a 3D fly through etc. The issue of cost benefit analysis for the cost of education remains to be addressed. Some academic professionals ought to seek out those students who graduated recently in the middle or lower end of their classes and see how they are doing financially. Many are carrying massive loans that are resulting in huge monthly payments.