Henry Powell, chair of the UC Academic Senate, and Daniel Simmons, vice chair, issued the following statement today (Jan. 6) regarding a proposed constitutional amendment for public higher education funding in California unveiled by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in his State of the State address. This statement does not reflect official positions of the Academic Senate or the University of California.

Today Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed a California constitutional amendment to provide California's four year institutions of public higher education with funding equivalent to 10 percent of the State budget. As the chair and vice chair of the University of California Academic Senate we are intimately familiar with the budgetary travails of higher education. As individuals, and speaking only for ourselves, we whole heartedly endorse the Governor's proposal. The proposal would bring much needed stability to the University of California and the California State University. In addition, the proposal reflects an investment in the future of the State of California and in generations of its students.

California's system of public higher education provides the innovative economic engine that powers California's transformational economy and provides California with her educated work force. California's system of public higher education is the envy of the world. Yet, in the past several years, public higher education has suffered serious decline in its funding. The percentage of young Californians attending college has plummeted. California desperately needs to reset its priorities so that the State can produce its own workforce for a knowledge based economy where prosperity is increasingly linked to educational attainment. The Governor's proposal will help reorient the State's budget priorities to protect the future of all of its citizens.