State reinvests in Rutgers
Fiscal year budget includes support for stem cell research, salary increases
Archived article from Sep 6, 2004
By Ashanti M. Alvarez
After three challenging years of reductions in state support,the university received a much-appreciated boost in state funding for the current academic year.
Among the budget’s highlights were increases in scholarship and financial aid money and a multimillion dollar appropriation for The Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey.
“The last three fiscal years have been difficult,” President Richard L. McCormick said at the July board of governors meeting. “Now at last we’re seeing something of a turnaround … we go into the new fiscal year in a lot better shape than we have the three previous July 1sts.”
Under a budget signed into law by Gov. James E. McGreevey, Rutgers will receive $315.4 million in base funding, up by 1 percent over last year. The university will supplement the state support with an 8 percent tuition increase (see related story).
In addition to the base funding, the state budget includes:
• $9.5 million in initial funding for The Stem Cell Institute
• $3 million for initiatives in agriculture, athletics, business, nursing and political science
• full funding for fringe benefit increases for Rutgers faculty and staff on state lines – an estimated increase of $13.5 million for a total of $158.3 million
• an estimated $9.8 million for salary increases for faculty and staff, about half the total cost
• increases in support for the Tuition Aid Grant program, the Equal Opportunity Fund and the Outstanding Scholars Recruitment Program
• funding for a state virtual library, which will give Rutgers’ libraries access to selected
databases.
In announcing the tuition increase, Nancy Winterbauer, vice president of university budgeting, said that the state support combined with increased revenues from tuition will allow the university to begin making reasonable investments in programs and services. Current levels of state support have led to unfilled faculty positions, reduced library acquisitions, fewer course offerings and overcrowded classrooms with some in a state of disrepair.
“The backlog of needs at this university are significant,” Winterbauer said. “This budget year is significantly better with the state reinvesting in Rutgers, so that with the increases in tuition, room, board and fees we are proposing, we will actually be able to generate modest funds to begin to address the many needs this university faces.”
In July, the state Supreme Court ruled the state’s $28 billion budget unconstitutional. The budget is balanced, but only because it relies on $2.7 billion in borrowed money. The high court allowed this year’s budget to stand in order to avoid government disruption, but outlawed debt-as-revenue in future budgets.
“[The court’s ruling] is not going to be good for higher education and it’s probably going to thrust us back two years,” said James Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.
But with recent turmoil in the Statehouse, Hughes said it is hard to predict the future. “Obviously there is going to be a new governor. Maybe the new governor will make higher education a higher priority,” Hughes said.
As for the future of Rutgers, McCormick called upon university faculty, staff, students, parents, alumni and state residents to join the Friends of Rutgers (FOR) network, launched in February, to lobby legislators and other policy-makers in Trenton. FOR members might telephone their elected representatives, write, fax or e-mail letters to key decision makers, submit letters or opinions to local newspapers, talk to community groups, meet with legislators, attend hearings or join a rally in Trenton.
“We are over 1,850 members and we need to keep growing,” said Richard Considine, director of Rutgers’ advocacy programs. “Faculty and staff often understand and can articulate the issues accurately, and that is going to help us in the long run with our advocacy.”
More information about FOR is on the Web at for.rutgers.edu.
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