Joe Angeles
Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton (left) and Mahendra Gupta, PhD (right), dean of the Olin Business School and the Geraldine J. and Robert L. Virgil Professor in Accounting and Management, welcome Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon to campus April 7. The Knight Center’s pub served as the “green room” for the governor before he took to the stage in the Anheuser-Busch dining room to deliver a speech on the state budget. Invited guests included St. Louis business leaders, MBA students and faculty. This was the third and last stop on the governor’s swing through the state to promote his budget. WUSTL freshman Lauren Ortwein challenged the governor on his plan to eliminate state scholarship funds for students attending private colleges and universities. Ortwein told the governor that two state programs, Access Missouri and Bright Flight, make it possible for her to attend WUSTL. The governor replied that he was open to some compromise on limiting the programs but that he believes Missouri cannot afford “to incentive education” at private schools with tax dollars. By law, the Missouri legislature must approve a balanced budget in early May. Nixon said he was confident the necessary cuts in jobs and services will be made and that he is optimistic that the state will begin to recover from the recent economic downturn.