UA chief drops to knees, begs
Posted on Thursday, October 26, 2006
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/170820/
University of Arkansas at Fayetteville Chancellor John White got on his knees Wednesday — literally — to beg legislators for more money.
UA is getting $ 110 million this fiscal year and will need an additional $ 37 million for fiscal 2008 to get its fair share under a higher education funding formula agreed upon by state colleges and universities, he said.
With the extra money, he would, among other things, set up needs-based college scholarships, something he says Arkansas desperately needs.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Beebe has proposed instituting need-based scholarships, but Republican nominee Asa Hutchinson has said federal financial aid and merit-based scholarships are sufficient.
White made his pitch for more money during a budget hearing before the Legislative Council.
“If you want me to get down on my knees, I’ll get down on my knees right now,” White said.
He then knelt behind a podium with only the top of his head in view to legislators and the audience.
Laughter ensued.
“Folks, you can’t see him, but he’s down praying, I see him,” said Sen. Tim Wooldridge, DParagould, council co-chairman.
White then explained why he thinks more money is important for higher education in Arkansas.
“We’re not asking that for John White,” White said “We’re asking you on behalf of future generations of Arkansans. We’re not competing with neighboring states. We have got to be globally competitive. Jobs aren’t going to go to the place with the cheapest labor. Jobs are going to go to the place with the brightest people. A two-year degree is not going to be sufficient. We need those young people going ahead and getting four-year degrees. We cannot be left behind.
“ That’s why I will get down on my knees at anytime and ask you to fully fund the formula for colleges across the state.”
Regarding what he would do with the extra money, White said he would raise faculty salaries.
“Thank goodness Ole Miss and Mississippi State are in the SEC and Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are in the Big 12 because they are the only ones with salaries lower than us [in those conferences ],” he said.
He said he also wanted to hire more faculty. The studentteacher ratio was 14-to-1 in 1997 but rose to 18-to-1 in 2005 and now is 17-to-1, which he said was too high.
“[Also ] a critical need is obvious to me now [but ] was not obvious to me a few years ago, and that’s needs-based scholarships,” White said. “I used to think a student in need who wanted to attend one of our institutions with a combination of the Academic Challenge Scholarship, lowinterest loans, Pell grants or work study could come and get a degree with us. I’m no longer convinced that that’s going to be adequate to attract young people to our campus. I believe we must have needsbased scholarships.”
He said tuition is $ 5, 830 a year.
Sen. Terry Smith, D-Hot Springs, asked White what UA had done to “cut corners.”
White couldn’t give him details but promised to provide that information.
White said he wants to improve UA’s six-year graduation rate to 66 percent by 2010, up from 55. 5 percent. But he said he wasn’t sure how much he could do. He blamed a “stay close to home” attitude of many students in the state.
“We’ve got to break them from their high school ties and their high school buddies,” White said. “I am very concerned about that. I am beside myself.”
He then nodded to his left. “In fact, there I am right there just beside myself about this issue,” he said.
In the 2005 legislative session, Gov. Mike Huckabee and the Legislature made a high priority of pumping more money into higher education after college officials had complained for many years of getting no more than cost-of-living increases.
All institutions of higher education received $ 568 million in state general revenue in fiscal 2005. That was increased to $ 644 million for fiscal 2007.
The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board has recommended $ 840 million for fiscal 2008 and $ 967 million for 2009, a 15 percent increase each year.
Legislators gave no indication during the meeting with White whether his request would meet with favor in the 2007 session that begins Jan. 8.
Afterward Sen. Dave Bisbee, R-Rogers, co-chairman of the Joint Budget Committee, said the board’s recommendation isn’t reliable. He said to get the colleges to sign off on the formula the board has to make them all happy.
“You end up with a very inflated budget to get that consensus,” Bisbee said. “This Legislature’s aware of that. We’ll work on that.”
He said he supports the idea of setting up a need-based scholarship program in Arkansas.
“Tuition has gotten so high,” Bisbee said. “It’s hard to go to college and work because it’s gotten so much more expensive.”
He said he would like the state to craft need-based scholarships in such a way that a student would have to pay back at least some of it if he didn’t graduate.