Budget Presentation to the Higher Education Subcommittee of the House Ways & Means Committee
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak with you today and offer information about Clemson University's budget priorities.
First, let me say that as we present these priorities, we understand that the state continues to face serious financial difficulties. In such times, your task is to ensure that every dollar the state spends is a good investment. I know that you believe higher education is a good investment for the people of South Carolina; that's why you serve on this committee and has been so supportive of Clemson and other institutions in the past. We ask first and foremost for your continued advocacy of higher education or a priority for South Carolina.
I'd also like to thank you for your support of the research university regulatory reform bill last year. This is an important initiative for economic development, and we ask for your continued support as the proposals move through the Senate.
The regulatory reform bill is an important next step in our progress toward building a knowledge-based economy for South Carolina. We have seen this year that state investments in research universities pay off. Since the academic year began, we have broken ground for a 400-acre automotive research campus that promises to make South Carolina the center of the automotive and motorsports industry, and announced plans to invest $70 million over the next five years at the Clemson Research Park in Anderson County to help build an advanced materials economic cluster in the emerging photonics industry. Both of these initiatives will create new jobs for South Carolinians.
But while support for research is increasing, funding for basic academic programs continues to decline.
Our top budgetary priority is simply to maintain current base funding for educational and general programs. Since 2001, we have lost a fourth of our state E&G funding, and the result has been increased tuition, internal budget cuts, and the loss of faculty and staff positions.
As you know, Clemson University's goal is to be one of the nation's top 20 public universities. Why? What does that mean to students? Our research shows that it means smaller classes, more one-on-one interaction with faculty, a better chance of graduating on time, higher starting salaries and a better chance getting into the nation's top graduate programs. For the state, it means a higher level of research productivity that translates into a knowledge-based economy and more jobs for South Carolinians.
Even as we have lost state funding, we have seen quality improvements at Clemson. Part of the reason is that we have raised tuition substantially to protect academic quality. Another reason is that the internal budget cuts we've made have been strategic and thoughtful. We have not done across-the-board reductions. We have protected priority areas as much as possible and have continued to invest in quality initiatives.
However, we are concerned about increasing costs to our students, and we believe we have reached the limits of what we can cut internally without significant personnel reductions and program cuts that will directly impact the classroom. Stable base funding will minimize tuition increases and protect program quality.
While we are on the subject of base funding for core programs, I must express my deep concern with the Governor's proposed budget, which includes an unprecedented 41 percent cut for Clemson's Public Service Activities. I know that this committee's charge is to address academic priorities, but at Clemson, our PSA programs are integrally connected to academics. We will have an opportunity next week to present the PSA budget, so I will not go into detail at this time. But I can tell you that the budget cuts proposed for PSA will have a devastating impact on our academic programs, especially in the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences. Many faculty members have joint PSA and teaching assignments, and the loss of those positions would have a direct impact on degree programs currently serving more than 2,000 students.
Our second priority is a cost-of-living increase for state employees. We share the General Assembly's concern about the fact that state employees are financially losing ground. Clemson's greatest resource is its faculty and staff. We encourage you to give every consideration to a cost-of-living increase or, at a minimum, funding to offset the recent increase in the state health insurance premium.
We also have a list of programmatic priorities that are outlined in the materials you have in front of you. For the most part, they are the same priorities that you have seen for the past two years, so I will not take your time to go through them one by one. However, I would like to touch briefly on two.
Last year, we requested $1 million to build a center of excellence in wireless communication. We received $500,000 in non-recurring funds, and we value that support. We ask for your continued support for this program, and would point out that it was included as a priority in Governor Sanford's executive budget proposal.
The second program that I would like to mention is one that was not on our list last year but is a high university priority. We seek $250,000 for our Emerging Scholars Program. This outreach program aims to make higher education accessible to students in schools with the lowest college-going rates in the state. By starting early and bringing these students to campus for summer experiences over 2 years, we demystify the college experience and completely change their self-concept. They come to us assuming that could never even think about college. When they leave, they fully expect to come back as a full-time, degree-seeking student. We hope that many of these students will attend Clemson, but the goal of the program is to get them into college - any college. That's how you break the cycle of poverty and under-achievement.
The Emerging Scholars Program is important to South Carolina and it is important to me, personally. You see, I am the first person in my extended family to go to college. I remember how mysterious and inaccessible college seemed to be. I had never been on campus, eaten in the dining halls or gone to college classes. I was very fortunate that I found mentors to help me understand college and apply and visit campuses; so that I came to believe I could attend and be successful on a college campus like Clemson. The Emerging Scholars Program would have been a tremendous help to me, and Clemson is determined to make a difference in the lives of first generation college students.
I encourage you to read through this material and let me know if we can provide anything else that will help you with the very difficult task that you face.
We appreciate your attention today, and the service you provide to the state every day.