While legislators’ and University administrators’ minds are on the budget for the upcoming legislative session, the University’s Faculty Senate is working on a resolution supporting higher education funding for Louisiana.
The first reading of a resolution prepared by Sen. Thomas D. Lynch took place Tuesday at the Faculty Senate meeting. It proposes the creation of a task force, that would examine the current formula for Louisiana higher education funding to expedite flagship agenda priorities.
The task force would meet and eventually recommend how the University should finance higher education. Its recommendation would include consideration of additional fees, expansion of existing fees, other alternative means to finance higher education and a more efficient formula to distribute higher education funds around the state.
However, to reassure the faculty of Gov. Mike Foster’s promise to maintain funding for higher education, Andy Kopplin, Gov. Foster’s Chief of Staff, spoke at the meeting.
Although legislators are cutting $200 million out of the budget, they are leaving higher education “off the table,” Kopplin said.
The University suffered 13 budget cuts in nine years, Kopplin said. “That series of budget cuts that took place absolutely devastated Louisiana’s education potential,” he said.
The University still has an under-funded system and there still are significant challenges facing legislators, University faculty and administrators.
“The state has less money this year than it did last year, and the state will have less money next year than it did this year,” he said.
Despite the lack of money, the Foster administration plans aggressively to fund higher education, Kopplin said.
Kopplin said the University needs funding to help with the flagship agenda concept, and the University needs a better balance between undergraduate and graduate students.
In other business, Shirley Plakidas, director for the LSU Union, spoke about the Union renovation plan, which expected to cost $54.6 million. The plan will consist of 52,000 square feet in additions and 150,000 square feet of renovations.
The plan also would include a student leadership center, a late-night activities zone and a campus crossroads entrance facing Highland Road, making the Union more accessible to people living on campus.
Finally, Lisa Batiste-Evans, Howard Hugh’s Medical Institute Professors Program coordinator, spoke at the meeting about LSU is receiving one of 20 $1 million grants awarded by HHMI to “integrate the mentoring ladder.”
The HHMI program would produce undergraduate mentors for high school students by spring 2004 and eventually, high school mentors for elementary school students, she said.
“Our hopes and aspirations are to make this work well. We need the faculty’s support,” Batiste-Evans said.