The economic meltdown has hit U.S. college campuses, and higher education is on the chopping block in state budgets, with cuts totaling hundreds of millions of dollars already approved and hundreds of millions in more cuts on the way. As veteran legislators, the authors have seen this story play out before in previous recessions. The mindset on campuses and in statehouses is one of getting by, hunkering down to weather the storm, and then returning to business as usual when things improve. The authors argue that getting by just will not work this time around. The fiscal crisis the states face will be the deepest and longest in more than a generation. The authors suggest that now is the time for state legislatures to engage more directly with higher education to accomplish state goals. They argue that the challenge is finding new ways to address the educational needs of states and citizens, even in this new turbulent economy.