On March 1, 1999, the California State University held its systemwide CSU Legislative Day in Sacramento. This was an opportunity for delegates from all 23 campuses to meet with members of the state Legislature to discuss critical issues related to higher education, the CSU and specific campus needs. President John Welty, Vice President Peter Smits, and Legislative Liaison Sandra MacNevin met with members of the Central Valley legislative delegation, including Senators Chuck Poochigian and Jim Costa; and Assembly members Mike Briggs, Dean Florez, George House, and Sarah Reyes. CSU Board of Trustees member Dr. Joan Otomo-Corgel joined President Welty and the campus delegation during visits with Valley legislators.
The focus of discussion by CSU delegates was on augmentations needed in the Governor's budget proposal in order to address the needs of the CSU. These augmentations address budget requests made in the CSU's 1999-2000 Support Budget (approved October 1998) but reduced significantly or absent in the Governor's proposed budget (January 1999). Working on the assumption that additional revenues will be available at the time of the May Revise, the CSU is advocating the adoption of its initial budget request, including the following items:
Compensation. Employee compensation was the largest area of proposed funding in the CSU Budget Request. The CSU proposes to provide a 4 % general compensation pool to keep all employee salaries competitive, and an additional 2% faculty salary supplement to continue our progress toward eliminating the faculty salary lag. The CSU requests $48 million to address faculty and staff compensation.
Technology. The CSU proposes a permanent budget increase of $25 million to help fund the technology infrastructure initiative. These funds are proposed for costs associated with user workstations, network operations and support services.
Teacher Preparation. The CSU has responded to the state's crisis in teacher preparation education through a number of initiatives. The CSU proposes to further enhance its efforts to meet the state's challenges for new, qualified teachers by requesting $2.4 million in permanent funding to expand CSU teacher preparation summer operations.
Campus Initiatives. The CSU proposes $7.4 million to fund special campus initiatives, including $5 million for applied agricultural research at the four CSU agricultural campuses. This request includes funding for Fresno State's CATI program. The Governor's proposed budget provides only $1 million for applied agricultural research rather than the $5 million originally requested.
State Recognized Deficiencies. The CSU proposes to provide $20 million to continue progress toward eliminating the deferred maintenance backlog, $15 million to address the annual depreciation costs of instructional equipment, and $10 million to continue to refresh library acquisitions. The Governor's proposed budget does not fund these items.
Campus delegates also discussed a proposal for Compact II with state legislators in order to provide higher education with stable funding for the next four years. Compact II would provide a 4% annual general fund increase over the next four years plus additional funding for the estimated 2-3% annual increase in enrollment during that time. In response to discussions related to Compact II, the Governor and members of the Legislature emphasized that they would hold the CSU more accountable in areas such as productivity, accessibility, and affordability.
For information on legislative affairs at California State University, Fresno, please contact Sandra A. MacNevin, executive assistant to the president and legislative liaison, at 278-2324 or sandra_macnevin@csufresno.edu.
Presidents' higher education Consortium meets with Valley legislators
On March 19, President Welty hosted a meeting of 12 presidents of the Central Valley's higher education community, including community college and university leaders. They were joined by members of the Valley's legislative delegation and discussed a number of issues related to the higher education needs of the Central Valley.
CSU hosts meeting with California congressional delegation
The CSU Office of Federal Relations hosted a Capital Hill Workshop and Reception for California congressional delegates on March 23 in Washington, D.C. Chancellor Reed, CSU trustees and presidents joined campus legislative liaisons on Capital Hill to discuss federal education policy in the 106th Congress, the year 2000 federal budget, and federal funding opportunities for the CSU system and campuses. President Welty invited Congress members George Radanovich and Cal Dooley to attend as his guests.
University Ambassadors for Higher Education to meet
Later this semester President Welty will convene a meeting of our campus's Ambassadors for Higher Education. This group of approximately 50 leaders from the Central Valley community play a leading role in promoting higher education issues on behalf of the CSU and our campus. Fresno State's Ambassadors are a critical resource to the university, communicating to opinion leaders, decision makers, and the public on how the university and the CSU system are preparing for the challenges of the 21st century. Ambassadors work on behalf of the university in their communities, meet with legislators, speak at events, serve on advisory boards, and work on philanthropic activities.
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