State Treasurer Ted Wheeler is proposing a first-of-its-kind college scholarship program considered risky by investment professionals.
State Treasurer Ted Wheeler is proposing a first-of-its-kind college scholarship program considered risky by investment professionals.
Here’s what Wheeler is proposing in a 2014 ballot measure called the Opportunity Initiative: He’d have the state borrow $500 million and invest the proceeds in stocks and private equity.
Wheeler would then distribute the profits in the form of need-based grants to Oregon college students.
Wheeler’s concept is a response to Oregon students’ growing struggle to afford college. Costs are rising far faster than incomes, and so he’d like to use the state’s borrowing capacity, traditionally used for roads and buildings, to reverse Oregon’s disinvestment in higher education.
Read more at Willamette Week.
