Keep the master plan promise alive
Fifty years ago a vision of opportunity was born in California. I'm talking about the creation of the Master Plan for Higher Education, the document that turned our state into a global model for accessible, affordable, high-quality public universities and colleges. The plan also nurtured first-class graduate and professional education at the University of California, accelerating the growth of pioneering research in the humanities, social sciences, engineering, natural sciences and many other critical disciplines.
On April 27, I commemorated the 50th anniversary of the master plan with an advocacy day in Sacramento. I joined with the leaders of the California State University and California Community Colleges and more than 250 alumni and supporters to ask our governor and legislators to make higher education as much a funding priority as it was when California adopted the master plan.
Today, most Californians probably don't think much about the master plan, but it would be hard to find anyone whose life isn't touched in some way by the end product of it.
The state's public colleges and universities now educate more than 3.5 million students. Those students translate into the most highly skilled work force in the world, a major attraction for employers. UC alone graduates more than 50,000 students a year.
Nurses, doctors, teachers, firefighters, police, engineers, business entrepreneurs, winemakers, entertainers, artists and innovators — the majority of people serving the state, powering its industries and driving its culture are trained in our public higher education systems.
Maintaining the quality and capacity of those systems should be among our state's highest priorities. Sadly, this is not the case.
In 2009-10, the state cut higher education funding by $1.7 billion. Together the three public higher education systems have 226,000 students for which they receive no state support. Since 1990 the amount the state contributes per student has dropped more than 50 percent.
In 1960, the year the master plan was adopted, UC received 7 percent of the state's budget. Today it's slightly more than 3 percent.
Unfortunately, this funding decline has forced our colleges and universities to cut courses and student services at a time when demand is high from graduating high school seniors, veterans returning from active duty and thousands of unemployed Californians seeking new job skills. For the 2010 fall term, UC received the largest number of applicants in its history. Now more than ever — with California facing a shortage of 1 million college-educated workers — we need to restore funding to serve this demand.
Our advocacy efforts proved productive: The governor has said he will not sign a state budget without the higher education funding restorations he has proposed. In the coming weeks, the governor and legislators will negotiate a final 2010-11 state spending plan. It is crucial that it restore UC funding. Thousands of UC supporters have sent messages to our legislators asking them to support UC's budget request. Your voice will make their message stronger. Find out how you can help at www.ucforca.org.
Contact me at president@ucop.edu.
Although I will read all your e-mails, I am not able to personally respond to every one. I encourage you to follow me on Facebook and Twitter, where you can share your ideas and look for answers to many of your questions.