The people of Virginia demand more of you. And you owe the people of Virginia a fiduciary duty not only to know the answers to questions of cost and quality, but to spend public resources wisely on the key components of quality teaching and learning. Sometimes more money is needed. I am happy to report that earlier this year I approved a budget that increases general fund spending on higher education by 18 percent over the last biennium. But often, more money is a crutch for bad decisions.
More money can be a substitute for good management.
More money will disguise bad management year after year and for generations to come as bad decisions become embedded in baseline budgets. These principles of responsible stewardship apply to all the funds your institution spends. You owe the people of Virginia a fiduciary duty for the expenditure of general fund tax dollars, tuition and fee tax dollars, and the donations of generous alumni. Let me add a word about charitable gifts to your institutions and the foundations affiliated with your institutions. These generous gifts of alumni and friends are as important to the students you serve as the tax dollars you receive from taxpayers.