UNC reality

Erskine Bowles didn't need his considerable experience as an investment banker to see that the next budget for the University of North Carolina system he leads isn't going to be one for ambitious new projects. The UNC president made it clear to the system's 17 constituent institutions, in a speech to the UNC Board of Governors, that schools need to focus on fixing up their buildings and strengthening their infrastructure as best they can. They'll have little choice but to follow his cautionary advice.

Budget-makers in the General Assembly already know the numbers that are coming up in the crystal ball, and they've all got minus signs in front of them. The state's budget shortfall could be $3.5 billion next year, and unemployment remains high. The climb from this recession is going to be more the pace of a crawl up a steep rock wall than a sprint along a path. And that, Bowles is saying, means everybody, even the much-valued UNC system.

The system always has been viewed, and justifiably so, as an investment that yields a multitude of dividends - first among them the realization of a dream for the sons and daughters of this state of a truly "higher" education, one that has historically opened doors and made dreams come true. Many, many of these students became leaders in this state, from those holding high political office to those who made ground-breaking discoveries in the laboratories of research universities.

Beyond that, the UNC system has drawn students from around the world who have made their own considerable contributions to their home countries. And the system has been a tangible economic engine, from the birth of the Research Triangle Park 50 years ago to N.C. State's Centennial Campus to the lure that a top-flight university can offer to cutting-edge industries in any number of communities.

So it would be utterly foolish for the state to stop looking to invest even more in its public universities. That said, there are years - and there are years. This is one when universities can perhaps catch a breath after a boom in building following a multibillion-dollar bond issue several years ago to deal with an inventory of renovation and maintenance needs. What Bowles is saying is, focus on that, catch up and expect delays in new projects.

That's not guidance university leaders like to hear, but the numbers do not lie, and the UNC system actually has done much better than it might have as state agencies have sliced their budgets. And, there will be a better day ahead.