ustxtxb_obs_1987_05_01_50_00001-00000_000.pdf

THE TEXAS May 1 , 1987 .0 0 0 CL -4.410*P MICHAEL KING ON LILY TOMLIN AND SPALDING GRAY 13 SERVER A Journal of Free Voices One Dollar Handmaiden of the Business Barons BY JAMES SLEDD Austin 1 N 1836, WHEN Texans declared their independence from Mexico, they faulted the Mexican government for failing to provide a system of public education. With out education and enlightenment, wrote the authors of the Texas Declaration of Independence, there was little hope of the continuance of civil liberty or the capability of self -\\\\ government .” Now, more than 150 years later, politi cians are still extolling education, but not so much for the sake of civil liberty or self-government. These days education is promoted for the sake of economic growth and competitiveness. There is talk of reorganizing the state’s system of higher education “to make it more consistent with the current directions of technology and business,” as Governor Bill Clements’s task force on k business development recently put it. The task a s force wants the universities to produce “leaders in business, engineering, finance, economics and emerging industries. ” Although some politicians, such as Lieutenant Governor Bill Hobby, recognized the value of education independent of its role in the business world, even Hobby can’t resist linking universities with the ballyhooed jobs booms promised by the private sector. In his inaugural address in January, Hobby referred to “education and research” **.,V,N \\’