With dramatic plan, Nevada asks battered universities to solve its economic crisis - John Marcus, the Hechinger Report

Nevada is now proposing a dramatic turnaround under which it hopes battered public higher-education system will help lead it out of economic crisis. By changing the formula under which colleges and universities are funded, policymakers plan to reward institutions for turning out graduates and research that can build new industries in a state that has proven far too vulnerable to downturns in the dominant areas of gaming and construction. A Brookings Institution report last year found Nevada overly dependent on a consumption economy acutely prone to booms and busts, with “substantial” shortages of skilled workers and too little investment in innovation. Six of the top 10 employers are casinos. http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/20/13990622-with-dramatic-plan-nevada-asks-battered-universities-to-solve-its-economic-crisis