KU sets state, federal priorities for 2008
As the new year gets under way, legislators are returning to session. KU is promoting several initiatives at the state and federal levels to further the university's mission and keep higher education in the minds of lawmakers.
Doug Koch/University Relations
Repairs to steam tunnels and deferred maintenance remain a major legislative priority for KU in 2008.
KU representatives are promoting issues such as providing more pharmacists for the state, continuing the fight against cancer, funding deferred maintenance, protecting university resources, reauthorizing the Higher Education Act and securing research funding.
STATE ISSUES
The Kansas Legislature opened its 2008 session Jan. 14. Kathy Damron, director of state relations for KU, said producing more pharmacists for the state is a chief issue.
KU is asking for an increase in funding to expand the School of Pharmacy. Currently, KU is only allowed to have 105 students enrolled in the pharmacy program. The proposal is to grow enrollment in Lawrence by as many as 45 students and to open a satellite campus at the KU School of Medicine-Wichita that could enroll as many as 40 students. About $5 million in bonds per year would fund the expansion.
The expansion of the school is especially pressing, as a shortage of pharmacists is spreading through the state. Currently, six Kansas counties do not have a pharmacy, and another 30 have only one. The average age of pharmacists in some areas is almost 60.
"We've got men and women who are serving on the front lines of health delivery who are ready to retire," Damron said.
A second phase of the expansion would increase research capacity in the pharmacy school. Increasing research would help advance an integral part of another top agenda item.
"The fight against cancer remains KU's top research priority, and we will be asking legislators to continue the state's investment in the drive to obtain National Cancer Institute designation for our comprehensive cancer center," Chancellor Robert Hemenway wrote in a Jan. 7 e-mail to KU employees.
KU will ask the state to continue its $5 million appropriation. The funding is important, as demonstration of state investment is one of the criteria for NCI designation.
DEFERRED MAINTENANCE
One of last year's top priorities remains on this year's slate. In 2007, legislators approved $410.5 million to pay for maintenance backlogs on campuses across the state. KU is slated to receive about $35 million over five years. But the problem is not solved.
"The investment made by the governor and Legislature in 2007 is funding repairs to mission-critical infrastructure.But as Gov. Sebelius stated at the time, that investment is only a down payment, and we still have a long way to go until the maintenance backlog is eliminated," Hemenway said.
KU, which has an estimated maintenance backlog of $200 million, is asking for $15 million per year to fund repairs to deteriorating infrastructure. The Kansas Board of Regents is proposing legislators restore money from a statewide mill levy that was repealed several years ago. Half of the levy was retired to fund debt retirement on research buildings.
Hemenway said KU will also support an increase in the operating grant requested by the regents.
"We direct a significant portion of those resources to maintaining a high-caliber faculty and staff, which ensures a first-rate education for our students and keeps KU tuition affordable," he said.
The state legislature will be in session through mid-April.
For more on KU's state agenda, visit KU State Government Relations or contact Damron, (785) 235-2525 or mkdtopeka@aol.com.
FEDERAL ISSUES
At the federal level, KU is pursuing several items important to the university's research, academic mission and outreach. The second session of the 110th Congress opened this month and will likely be in session past the November general elections.
Keith Yehle, who formerly served as director of Government Relations, is now director of federal relations, devoting his efforts toward legislation on Capitol Hill and building new relationships with federal agencies.
Top among KU's federal priorities this year is opposition to efforts aimed at taxing university endowments. Some senators have proposed taxing endowments that don't annually spend at least 5 percent of the value of their holdings to help keep tuition and costs from increasing. Yehle said such a tax plan is not a feasible option and not appropriate, as the vast majority of the gifts are allocated by donors for use in funding specific scholarships, grants, professorships or programs.
KU is also encouraging the Kansas congressional delegation to help renew the Higher Education Act. The Senate passed a bill last July with bipartisan support, but several issues remain with the House version. The Senate bill would allow institutions to set their own levels for judging student achievement, while the House bill does not. Movements to impose standards of learning outcomes through federal accreditation standards are equivalent to measures in the No Child Left Behind Act, Yehle said. KU will oppose these provisions, as Congress works on the overall measure.
As part of the House bill, there are provisions creating a "tuition watch list."
"A tuition watch list may look good and sound good, but it doesn't give KU a chance to explain that over five years ago students supported a tuition enhancement plan," Yehle said. "You also cannot explain that KU recently adopted a Four-Year Tuition Compact to help students and their families plan to pay for a KU education. We would get no recognition of this effort."
Yehle is encouraging Kansas representatives and senators to fully fund the America COMPETES Act, which provides resources for research. Many of KU's research grants come from entities such as the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education and others. Flat or reduced funding to such groups can harm KU's research potential and ability to recruit and retain faculty and students.
Yehle said it is vital that the university request such increases in the proper manner so there are no competing KU requests in congressional offices and to comply with federal ethics laws. All contact with the Kansas congressional delegation must be arranged through Yehle's office to avoid violating federal ethics laws.
"We have to be judicious and methodical in the way we reach out to our members of congress on KU's behalf," Yehle said.
The Office of Government Relations can help arrange meetings with representatives and provide the necessary means for requesting funding increases.
For more information on KU's federal agenda, visit KU Federal Government Relations or contact Yehle, 864-7100 or kyehle@ku.edu
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