9% tuition raise for solar power?

6/1/2011: The OUS Board meets Friday. “The Board will review and approve the proposed tuition and fee rates for 2011-12.” Yes, the agenda states they will approve the increases. No vote? Bill Graves has a good story in the Oregonian, here. From OUS:

UO – The University of Oregon is proposing up to a 9 percent increase to resident undergraduate tuition and a 6.9 percent increase to resident graduate tuition. (And, if I read it right, a 8.8% increase for non-resident undergrad.)

Where will OUS spend the money? Well, of course Dr. Pernsteiner will take his cut off the top for expenses. Then there’s the Jock Box, and all the new UO administrators. And now, solar power:

The Oregon University System (“OUS”) has made plans to undertake a solar photovoltaic power purchase agreement program for all of its campuses. This objective includes a potential installed capacity of approximately 55 megawatts using solar energy equipment from a company similar to Zonna Energy. The initial steps for this overall plan are to expediently execute a power purchase agreement covering the power generation from five megawatts of photovoltaic systems; installed across each of the seven OUS campuses in two phases during 2011 and 2012.

Yes, nothing says you care about looking green like pissing away other people’s money on solar cells in rainy Oregon. (In fairness, EOU will get a chunk of them. I hear the sun shines over there.)

As for the rest of the OUS Board agenda, well, if you ever had doubts about Kitzhaber’s plan to fire them all, just read it. Happy self important people, spending more and more of our student’s money on their own pet causes.