Urge the Legislature to support UC
What happens with the state budget deliberations over the next few weeks will have enormous consequences for the University of California and the people it serves.
After two years of debilitating state budget cuts, we are beginning to see a resurgence of support for higher education in Sacramento. Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposed 2011 spending plan includes a partial restoration of funding for UC: $305 million that was sliced from our 2009-10 budget, $51 million for enrollment support and $325 million in bond funding for campus building projects that will create 3,300 private sector jobs. The governor also is proposing full funding for Cal Grants, an essential part of the financial aid for our neediest students.
Assembly Speaker John Pérez has introduced a budget plan that emphasizes job creation and support for higher education. He recognizes that creating educational opportunities is the way to create the jobs that will lead California back on the path of economic stability. The speaker’s budget would fully fund Cal Grants and ensure student access, and the proposed allocations for UC closely mirror the governor’s proposal. The Senate also has put forward a similar budget proposal, though all the plans differ in their details and contingencies.
In reality, the governor’s proposal falls far short of UC’s true state funding needs, but it does help maintain student access and minimize further program cuts and employee layoffs. For those reasons, we are asking our lawmakers to include the governor’s proposed funding for UC in the final state budget.
We appreciate the difficult decisions the Legislature faces as it struggles to close a $19 billion budget gap. Many programs and constituents are competing for too few dollars. But it is essential that UC receive the financial support the governor has proposed. Even in tough economic times, the state needs to have priorities. Making higher education one of those priorities will help create a more prosperous future for all Californians.
We as an institution have tightened our belts and sacrificed with layoffs, pay cuts, program eliminations, service reductions and higher student fees.
We have already saved some $234 million from restructuring the Office of the President and instituting systemwide purchasing and other efficiencies. We can and will do more to cut our operating costs.
UC has embarked on an efficiency plan to redirect hundreds of millions of dollars over the next five years from administrative costs to our academic and research missions.
As the budget debate continues, we are asking legislators to remember the value UC brings to California and the vital role the university plays in creating jobs and new business opportunities.
Even in the middle of a recession last year, UC inventions spawned 47 start-up companies. For the 17th consecutive year, UC led all U.S. universities in the number of patents awarded. These discoveries are fueling innovation in the health care, energy, technology and transportation industries — all sectors that drive the California economy.
We need the state’s support to continue this tradition of innovation, to keep UC affordable and accessible to all Californians and to bolster our contributions to the state’s cultural and economic vitality.
Help us remind our lawmakers to make higher education a priority in the 2010-11 state budget. Find out how at UCforCA.org.
Contact me at president@ucop.edu.
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