Earlier this week, I received a Christmas card from a former student, expressing greetings but also profound thanks for the financial support that made it possible for him to complete his Gonzaga degree. During the holidays, it is not uncommon to receive such cards.

What perhaps made this one stand out was the fact that this alumnus – now quite far removed from his educational experience – so directly attributed his current success to the financial aid he received as a student. The first in his family to attend college, he genuinely understood and appreciated the significant role that a college education has played in his life.

Also earlier this week, my colleagues in Washington higher education and I were informed of a proposal that would defer the distribution of $76 million in State Need Grant funding to students for six months, beginning January 2011. As a longtime Washingtonian and member of this state’s higher education community, I understand the incredible pressure that the state of Washington finds itself under and applaud every creative effort to relieve that pressure.

What compels me to speak out is not so much the incredible short-term financial challenges that this proposal would place on students, families and all institutions – although that alone is cause for real concern. It is a much more significant, long-term issue.

Those of us in higher education maintain that a college degree is nothing less than an investment in our cultural and economic future. A college education is intended to equip its recipient not only with the technical skills necessary to be successful in her or his chosen profession, but the capacity to solve real societal problems and provide leadership in the face of civic and cultural challenges. As a matter of public policy, it makes sense to invest state dollars in those activities where they are likely to pay the greatest dividends.

From my perspective, by delaying and reducing its commitment to need-based financial aid, the state of Washington is de facto abandoning its previously held commitment to supporting access to higher education for all, and especially the economically disadvantaged people of our state – those who most need both the support and the opportunity that higher education provides.

This proposal to forestall payment obligations on the State Need Grant program, across all institutions at every level, comes in the wake of last year’s dramatic reduction to the State Work Study program – a program which has done much to support not only students but also local small business. It also comes at a time of significant unemployment, when education is an important pathway to re-employment. Knowledge is the portal to future opportunity; a college degree – whether from a public or private institution – provides the greatest opportunity for both individual and societal progress and advancement.

Because it is a private university, a common perception of my institution, Gonzaga University, is that it is a school limited to the privileged few: a place for rich kids who can afford the high price of private tuition and cost of attendance.

This reputation is not new, but it is also not accurate. As a Gonzaga grad whose own college path was made possible only through veterans’ educational benefits, federal aid and an excellent community college, I am constantly focused on ways of reducing the high cost of higher education.

Gonzaga’s recent phenomenal growth is due in significant part to making our programs more affordable and accessible, not less. This year, we invested $55 million of our revenue into financial assistance for students – over a fifth of our total operating budget. For a significant number of students, this commitment only works if our funding is joined with state and federal aid.

At Gonzaga, we continue a long tradition of educating people with an understanding of the responsibility that comes to those who have had the benefit of a college education: to give back to their society, their profession, their nation. The fiscal dilemma with which the state is wrestling becomes a moral dilemma for a nonprofit mission-based institution like Gonzaga, which is committed to educating students from all walks of life for the benefit of all society. Since most of our students come from this state, they seek opportunity to put their education to use in this state, and have successfully done so for decades.

Higher education in Washington is committed to delivering the best education possible. With modest amounts of financial help, many talented and deserving students can gain the knowledge necessary to be part of the answer for this state’s economic problems. Without it, they almost certainly cannot – and we will continue to slip in terms of societal health and competitiveness as a result.