Campus News
UC Response To Governor’s ’97-98 Budget Proposal
The following news release was issued on Thursday, Jan. 9, regarding 1997-98 state funding for UC proposed by the governor. Mike Lassiter Director, News & Communications, UCOP Thursday, January 9, 1997 Rick Malaspina (510) 987-9179 rick.malaspina@ucop.edu UC PRESIDENT APPLAUDS GOVERNOR’S BUDGET PLAN Gov. Pete Wilson’s 1997-98 proposed state budget provides the funding necessary to keep […]
The following news release was issued on Thursday, Jan. 9, regarding 1997-98 state funding for UC proposed by the governor.
Mike Lassiter
Director, News & Communications, UCOP
Thursday, January 9, 1997
Rick Malaspina (510) 987-9179
rick.malaspina@ucop.edu
UC PRESIDENT APPLAUDS GOVERNOR’S BUDGET PLAN
Gov. Pete Wilson’s 1997-98 proposed state budget provides the funding necessary to keep general fees for University of California students at the same level for the fourth consecutive year–an action praised by UC’s president as "a tremendous benefit" to students and their families.
In his budget proposal announced today (Thursday, Jan. 9), the governor also provided UC with funding to help restore faculty salaries to competitive levels, expand outreach to prospective college students and continue cooperative research with industry as a means of fueling the state’s economic growth.
"The governor’s budget is good news for the University of California and represents a tremendous benefit for our students and their families," UC President Richard C. Atkinson said.
"The governor, through this proposal, is renewing the promise extended to past generations of Californians of an affordable, accessible and high-quality university education," Atkinson added.
"I am grateful for Gov. Wilson’s support and optimistic that the Legislature, as it has for the past two years, will sustain the health of California’s system of higher education."
The governor’s proposal fulfills for a third year his four-year compact with higher education to bring fiscal stability and predictability to UC and the California State University. It fully funds UC’s state funding request, assuring for the near term the university’s ability to maintain the excellence of its programs, continue to offer a place at a UC campus to all eligible California residents seeking admission and to provide the classes that students need to graduate in a timely fashion.
The governor’s decision to add $37 million over and above the compact to eliminate the need for a fee increase parallels a priority set last fall by the UC Board of Regents. If additional state funding became available for 1997-98, the board stated, student fees would remain at the current level.
If approved by the Legislature, the governor’s proposal would provide the university with an increase of 6.1 percent, or $125.7 million, in state general funds, for a total of $2.19 billion in state funding.
Under the governor’s proposal, mandatory student fees for California residents next fall would remain at $3,799 a year–marking the third straight year the governor has augmented UC’s budget to "buy out" the need for a general fee increase. The amount does not include miscellaneous campus fees, which bring the total average fee for resident undergraduate students to $4,166 a year.
The governor’s budget also calls for:
- Funding to bring UC faculty salaries to within 1.6 percent of the average of salaries at eight comparison institutions. This is a high priority of the Regents, who hope to close the faculty salary gap by 1998-99. The governor’s budget also provides funds to increase staff salaries by the same amount already provided for state employees.
- An additional $1 million to expand student academic outreach efforts, another priority set by the Regents last fall. The university already makes a substantial investment in outreach programs which are aimed at increasing the enrollment of high-achieving disadvantaged students. Of the $1 million, $250,000 will be devoted to UC outreach efforts in the Central Valley, adding to the $250,000 in state funding earmarked for Central Valley outreach last year.
- Making permanent the $5 million provided in state funding last year for UC’s Industry University Cooperative Research Program. Combined with $3 million in university funding, the matching grant program is expected to generate $10 million from private industry. The program joins UC researchers and students with industrial partners to develop technological innovations that drive the state’s economy, attract investment and provide jobs.
The governor’s budget also provides $150 million for capital improvement projects on UC’s nine campuses. The funding derives from Proposition 203, the higher education bond approved by voters in March 1996. The governor’s proposal also makes available another $21.7 million in state funds to match federal funding for earthquake repairs at the UCLA Center for Health Sciences.