In case you thought Bill Gates was only interested in K-12 education . . .

[proud2BlibKansan]

How to Train Your Draconian
March 1, 2011
WASHINGTON -- At a time when every governor is being forced to play budget hawk, most would welcome advice on how to simultaneously cut costs and improve public education from someone who is a venerated authority on both. And while many of the state leaders who attended the National Governors Association over the weekend had left by the time Bill Gates spoke on Monday afternoon, those who remained heard Gates make some loaded remarks about higher education funding.

During a sprawling talk in which he emphasized the importance of using data-based metrics to figure out how to increase educational attainment while bringing down costs in both K-12 and higher ed, Gates said that when the governors are deciding how to allocate precious tax dollars, they might consider the disparity between how much the state subsidizes certain programs and how much those programs contribute to job creation in the state.

“In the college area, everybody should have a sense of which of the colleges -- both community and four-year institutions -- are doing very well,” said Gates, co-chair of the influential Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is investing heavily in education reform. “You can even break that down by the departments. It’s actually very interesting when you take higher ed and think of it in that way. The amount of subsidization is not that well-correlated to the areas that actually create jobs in the state -- that create income for the state.

“Now, in the past it felt fine to just say, 'OK, we’re over all going to be generous with this sector,' ” he continued. “But in this era, to break down and really say, ‘What are the categories that help fill jobs and drive that state economy in the future?’ -- you’ll find that it’s not across the board in terms of everything that the state subsidizes in higher education.”

more . . . http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/03/01/gates_tells_governors_they_might_determine_public_university_program_funding_based_on_job_creation

[pnwmom]

1. Bill Gates spent a year a Harvard, and he made a ton of money,

but neither of those qualifies him as an education expert. Or even an economy expert.

The scary thing is, lots of people will listen to him.

[Starry Messenger]

2. He's like the Charlie Sheen of ed reform.

The sh1t that comes out of this guy's mouth is just so random and ridiculous. He's completely divorced from reality.

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. He needs to shut up and go back to curing malaria

[Starry Messenger]

6. I don't even trust him with that.

Why can't he cultivate tulips or something? I don't want him experimenting with humans.

[northoftheborder]

4. I wish someone would ask the question: "How does the football million dollar.....

coaches, and the platinum coated stadium at our local Public Univ. help the state economy, create jobs????????????"

[Jakes Progress]

5. It's America. He's rich. So he knows everything.

Stupid is as stupid does.