---------- DOCUMENT HEADER ----------
---------- DOCUMENT HEADER ----------
ARIZONA STATE LEGISLATURE
Forty-eighth Legislature – Second Regular Session
HOUSE AD HOC COMMITTEE ON EQUITY IN UNIVERSITY FUNDING
Minutes of Meeting
House Hearing Room 3 -- 11:00 a.m.
Chairman Nichols called the meeting to order at 11:18 a.m. and attendance was noted by the secretary.
Members Present
Representative Lopes Representative Robson
Representative Nichols, Chairman
FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS AND COMMENTS
Chairman Nichols related that the information provided to the Members is being studied, and he will draft a recommendation letter to circulate to the Members for comment. He and Mr. Lopes will continue forward into the next Session with the recommendations that need to move forward to correct inequities in university funding. He thanked everyone who compiled information for the Committee.
Mr. Robson expressed his gratitude for the information provided to the Members. He said he believes in striving for excellence at the university level. The information provided has shown that there is an inequity in funding, and the Legislature will now recognize that there is a problem.
Mr. Lopes added his thanks for everyone’s participation. He said there is a larger issue than inequity, which is inadequacy of funding for the universities. He agrees with striving to have first-rate research and applied universities, but to talk about inequity before talking about inadequate funding seems backwards; therefore, he hopes inadequate funding will be reviewed simultaneously with inequity. He urged the Arizona Board of Regents to provide the report discussed in previous meetings by the time Chairman Nichols drafts the Committee recommendations.
Chairman Nichols stated that with the current budget crisis, it is probably not realistic to make university funding more equitable during the next Session, but it is important to go forward with dialogue and a plan. The universities have not always been funded at the level many people believe is appropriate because the focus has often been on K-12.
Mr. Lopes noted that the list of Committees for the next Session was revealed the previous evening and there is no longer a Committee solely for universities. He asked if a mechanism can be created within the Education Committee for that purpose.
Chairman Nichols stated that he was on the Education Committee during his first four years as a legislator when the universities were included, and K-12 took up 90 to 95 percent of the Committee’s time.
Mr. Robson advised that he
suggested to Speaker Weiers that a Committee be formed to deal strictly with the
universities because the majority of time in the Education Committee pertained
to K-12 issues. He believes the universities should be addressed separately.
He and
Chairman Nichols agreed that it would be within the purview of the Committee to
make that recommendation.
Without objection, the meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m.
_______________________________
Linda Taylor, Committee Secretary
November 19, 2008
(Original minutes, attachments and audio on file in the Chief Clerk’s Office: video archives available at http://www.azleg.gov).
---------- DOCUMENT FOOTER ---------
HOUSE AD HOC COMMITTEE ON
EQUITY IN UNIVERSITY FUNDING
2
November 19, 2008
---------- DOCUMENT FOOTER ---------