Mississippi's State Auditor, Shad White, recently sparked a debate by describing several humanities and social science degree programs as "indoctrination factories."
He suggested that the state should reconsider its funding strategy for public universities, advocating for a shift towards supporting subjects that align with the state's workforce requirements.
In a report published in September, White proposed a new approach to public investment in higher education. Instead of uniformly funding all degree programs, he suggested that the state should prioritize those that meet the demands of the labor market. This proposal was part of a broader strategy to curb the exodus of college graduates from the state, as reported by the Associated Press.
"Students need to keep an eye on which industries are growing when they pick a college major. Taxpayers need to do the same when they think about funding universities," White posted on X. He further argued that the state's higher education system currently offers numerous "useless degrees" in "garbage fields," including Anthropology, African American Studies, Gender Studies, Women's Studies, German Literature, Sociology, and Urban Studies. According to White, these fields are not only irrelevant to the state's workforce needs but also potential hotbeds for political radicalization.
White's report, titled "Plugging the Brain Drain: Investing in College Majors That Actually Work," suggested that prioritizing certain majors over others could be beneficial for the state. The report noted that many students earn their degrees in Mississippi but then leave the state in search of better job prospects and broader cultural opportunities. To address this issue, the state could fund degree programs with higher earning potential immediately after graduation, such as business management and engineering.
Some high-paying degree programs were not likely to produce graduates who work in Mississippi, and this represents a missed opportunity for the states taxpayers, the report stated. Producing more of these graduates and then retaining even a small number of them would inject millions of additional dollars into Mississippis economy.
White suggested that the proposed funding cuts would primarily affect degree programs in the social sciences, humanities, and arts that do not offer financial benefits to the state. He cited a 2023 Texas law that bases funding for community colleges on "measurable outcomes," such as the number of degrees earned in high-demand fields, as a potential model for Mississippi.
While White does not have the authority to determine how education funding is allocated, his reports have previously been used by the state legislature to assess government spending. Therefore, his recommendations could potentially influence future decisions regarding higher education funding in Mississippi.
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