By
Eric Swedlund
Arizona Daily Wildcat
UA should fare better as alumnus takes charge of budget
PHOENIX - After spending recent years struggling for adequate state funds, the UA should fare much better in this budget cycle with Tucson Democrat Ruth Solomon as chair of the Senate Appropriations committee.
Solomon, who earned her education degree from the University of Arizona in 1972, controls the Joint Legislative Budget Committee along with House Chair Laura Knaparek, R-Tempe.
"It's our pleasure to assure the universities aren't going to have to wage
some of the battles they have in previous years," Solomon said.
UA lobbyist Greg Fahey said having Solomon in the UA's corner is indeed a big help.
"She certainly has been a good UA supporter, and she's cared about all
levels of education," Fahey said.
This is Solomon's 13th year in the Legislature, and with the Senate split
15-15 for the first time, she is no longer in a Democratic minority. Solomon served in the House from 1989 to 1994 and has been a senator since 1995.
"I control the budget, something I still haven't gotten used to," she said. "We decide which priorities determine the $14 billion biennial budget."
Solomon said that along with education, the top JLBC priorities are increasing pay for state employees, creating better programs to serve the mentally ill and improving highway safety.
"Representative Knaparek and I took care of the U of A," said Solomon, a
former middle school and elementary outreach teacher.
In the last several years, the Legislature had to fix much of the K-12 funding problems, which Solomon said detracted from the state's three public universities. Now that a positive threshold has been reached with K-12, Solomon said the attention must shift to university budget needs.
Specifically for the UA, the top funding priorities are a fully-funded building renewal program and competitive teaching and research salaries to stop the brain drain in the state.
"We have to be competitive," she said. "We need the best people to attract
research dollars and quality faculty."
The state universities are lagging, Solomon said, but "given the level of state support, our universities have done an absolutely remarkable job. With the appropriate level of support, they will rise even higher."
The state economy benefits greatly from a quality university, Solomon said, particularly in areas of technology.
"The Legislature also recognizes that with the (information and technology based) new economy, the university is a focal point," she said. "We wouldn't be attracting business and industry without the university. It's central to the new economy."
Solomon added that business and industry are attracted by a strong community labor pool, something provided by the high-tech fields at the UA.
"Without the university, we wouldn't have the basis industry is looking for," she said.
Solomon said that even with more support from the Legislature, private fundraising must still be a focus for the universities.
UA President Peter Likins' Campaign Arizona represents an enormous initiative in the $1 billion fundraising goal, Solomon said.
"We expect the universities to go for private funds, and we're pleased there's this kind of effort," she said. "I like President Likins a great deal, and we're excited to work together."
Fahey said the Legislature has recognized the UA's commitment to raising
private donations, but at the same time, private donors need to make sure the state is doing its share.
"We're showing we don't want the state to do all the heavy lifting by continuing to pursue private funds," he said.
As enrollment continues to increase at both the university and community college levels, the state must begin to examine the best way to provide education for all of its residents, Solomon said. This includes exploring distance learning and telemedicine programs to reach out to rural areas and remote parts of the state.
"Because more people are taking advantage of higher education, we need to look at how we deliver higher education in this state," she said. "It's time for the people involved in higher education to look at the system as a whole and deliver the package in a very accessible way."
Solomon said she hopes the increased university funding will continue.
"Once you get a permanent line in the budget, it's much harder to take money away," she said.
Solomon said she supports the universities but also recognizes the importance of allowing the Arizona Board of Regents to govern them.
"I don't want to micromanage any agency," she said. "It's not our job to determine what appropriate curriculum is."
