Failing Grade Format: Paperback

As its traditional economy has declined, Oregon has repeatedly failed to invest in its higher education system. In comparison to the international research universities of other west coast states, Oregon tries to build its future on the cheap and that looks like the kind it's getting.

Failing Grade: Oregon’s Higher Education System Goes Begging is a collection of two decades of witty but hard-hitting articles by the Oregonian’s chief political columnist, David Sarasohn. The columns track 20 years of cuts in funding by the Oregon legislature for Oregon’s higher educational institutions, and the concomitant dramatic decline in their quality. The appalling statistics, dismal firsthand accounts of student experiences and alarming comparisons with the achievements of nearby states are enough to shock the Oregon public and spur its state legislature into immediate, remedial action — or so the author and his publishers hope.

David Sarasohn has been making fun of politicians for The Oregonian since 1983. In 2008, Sarasohn was a finalist in commentary in the American Society of Newspaper Editors contest, and his work is included in Best Newspaper Writing, 2008-2009. His columns have twice won First Place awards in the "Best of the West" contest, and he won the 2002 Pulliam Fellowship for Editorial Writers. He has written two books, and his articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Harper's and The Nation.