DATE:     1-29-04

CONTACT:  John Kelly 864-656-3015
          Email: jkelly@clemson.edu

WRITER:   Peter Kent 864-656-0937
          Email: pkent@clemson.edu

CLEMSON PUBLIC SERVICE VP PRESENTS STATE BUDGET REQUEST 

     CLEMSON -- Clemson University responded to the governor's proposed
budget cuts for Public Service Activities on Wednesday, Jan. 28, in a
hearing with the state House Ways and Means subcommittee for Economic
Development, Environment, and Natural Resources.
     "We appreciate the effort to eliminate the state's budget deficit
without raising taxes," said John W. Kelly, Clemson University vice
president for Public Service. "However, the 41 percent budget cut
proposed in the executive budget represents an unprecedented cut. It
would force Clemson to shoulder a disproportionate burden of the
state's budget deficit and would eliminate programs that serve people
in every county of the state."
     The recommended budget represents a cut of $15.6 million, reducing
state support from $38 million to slightly less than $23 million. The
proposal states that Clemson's services should be limited to only those
that directly serve production agriculture.
     As a result, $8.1 million in funding is eliminated for programs in
economic and community development, environmental conservation, food
safety and nutrition, and youth development. An additional $7.5 million
would be cut from unspecified areas. The proposal recommends that those
operating expenses should be paid from proceeds of a land sale at the
Sandhill Research and Education Center in Columbia. But university
officials say using one-time funds for recurring expenses is fiscally
unsound.
     "If this budget is implemented, Clemson would never be the same
again," Kelly said. "The core of Clemson University has always been
public service. Now, we feel that's being jeopardized."
     As a result of state budget cuts over the past 24 months, Clemson
Public Service has streamlined operations by eliminating faculty, staff
and administrator positions; merging research and Extension operations;
regionalizing Extension services; and relying on new technology such as
the internet, satellite television broadcasts and radio to deliver
information.
     However, most agricultural producers in South Carolina do not use
the Internet and prefer to get information directly from Extension
agents. In addition, the popular "Your Day" radio show -- which reaches
25,000 listeners per day and has featured information from more than
220 Clemson experts -- is one of the services that would be cut in the
executive budget proposal.
     The research and Extension programs that are recommended for
elimination generate $30 million in outside funding through grants,
gifts and fees that the University would lose if the executive budget
is implemented. Such a substantial cut would mean that most county
Extension offices would be forced to close, 300 positions would have to
be eliminated, and academic programs could also be affected.
     Some of the programs that would be eliminated in the executive
budget proposal include:
     · Biotechnology research, which represents the future of
       agriculture and a powerful economic force for the state
     · Water quality training requested by the S.C. Department of
       Health and Environmental Control to prepare municipal agencies
       to meet federal Clean Water Act requirements
     · Design Arts Partnership, which gives architecture students
       real-world involvement helping rural communities revitalize
       their downtowns
     · The Collaborative Colloquium at Sandhill Research and Education
       Center, which promotes collaboration and eliminates duplication
       of economic and community development services statewide
     · Palmetto Leadership, which has trained more than 4,000 citizens
       to take leadership roles in more than 50 communities
     · The S.C. Nutrition Research Consortium of Clemson, MUSC, and USC
       to address the state's chronic health problems of obesity,
       diabetes, heart disease and cancer
     · Food safety programs in research, Extension and
       Livestock-Poultry Health
     · Youth programs, such as Future Farmers of America, 4-H character
       education, and experiential learning programs that have served
       more than 23,000 participants
     · Natural resource and forest management research and Extension
       programs, which support the state's forest land owners
     The executive budget recommends that Clemson Public Service
eliminate programs in four of its five goal areas to concentrate on
agriculture. However, all five goal areas serve agriculture and are
interrelated. They are also the goals set by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture and the national system of land-grant universities, of
which Clemson is a part.
     "You cannot separate animal waste management and research on
environmental issues from animal production," Kelly said. "When we
asked the people of South Carolina what they wanted Clemson to work on,
the number one request was environmental issues. Number two was health
and nutrition; and number three was youth development.
     "We understand that you have a difficult position and Clemson
University is willing to do its share," Kelly said. "We just ask that
our budget be given the same consideration as other state agencies."
                              END