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Executive Director: Hound the Candidates
9/15/2004

By Margaret S. Carlson, Ph.D. '83

Nobody likes to be a pest, but I believe that certain times call for a little pestering. This is one of those times.

Thanks to punishing funding cuts enacted during the last two legislative sessions, the University of Minnesota is experiencing one of the biggest budget challenges in the institution's history. This shortfall—our budget was cut by $180 million last year alone—threatens to affect every single person associated with the University. We're talking faculty, staff, current and future students, alumni, as well as every citizen of Minnesota—even those far from home.

Last month, when several community and business leaders and I accompanied Governor Tim Pawlenty (B.A. '83, J.D. '86) on a mission to visit Minnesota troops stationed in Kosovo, I was struck once again by the University's reach. When I had a chance to speak with enlisted men and women from Minnesota, I asked them how they felt about their state's only public research university. Most soldiers I spoke with had a direct connection to the U—they were alumni, current students, planning to attend the University, had alumni in their family, or simply were Gopher fans. Simply put, they were proud to be associated with the state's premier higher education institution.

Finding these strong U connections so far away drove home the point that when the University suffers, we all follow suit. But the University's influence goes well beyond our armed forces. Did you know that nearly two-thirds of all doctors, dentists, pharmacists, veterinarians, advanced practice nurses, and public health professionals in the state are trained at the University? That U alumni have founded 1,500 technology companies in Minnesota, employing 100,000 Minnesotans and adding $30 billion annually to the state's economy? That of the approximately 11,000 students the U graduates every year, 70 percent stay in Minnesota to pursue their careers and add to the tax base? As alumni, you have good reason to be proud of the U. But you also have good reason to be worried.

We all faced hard times last year. Just about every institution in the state suffered budget cuts. So when the governor announced that the U was also on the chopping block, we straightened our shoulders and took it on the chin. But if we care about our university and what it means for the state, we can't continue to play the fall guy. If the University's budget is slashed again next session, if needed upgrades to the medical school, chemistry labs, and other facilities are abandoned, I'm afraid that Minnesotans will be left with a state landmark that is nothing but an anemic shadow of its former robust glory.

Here's some perspective. Just what does $180 million in funding cuts look like? When you factor in inflation, we are working with a budget the likes of which we haven't seen since 1986! Looked at another way, in 1971 funding for the University was 8.3 percent of the state's budget. In 2005 it will be just 3.9 percent.

When state support plunges like this, everyone associated with the University feels the pain. Record double-digit tuition hikes year after year threaten the dreams of a college education for many of our state's brightest students. Budget cuts delay the much-needed health and safety upgrades to the University's heavily used classrooms and labs. Cuts in departments across campus mean that faculty salaries remain among the worst compared with research universities nationwide—and recruiting and retaining top faculty only gets tougher. Don't forget that it's the University's star faculty who land hundreds of millions of dollars in grants every year. This money not only fuels the research that leads to the medical, technological, agricultural, and other breakthroughs that save lives around the world, it creates jobs and start-up businesses and adds to the state's tax base, benefiting everyone in Minnesota.

Any one of these funding challenges is bad enough. With all of them together, the situation is unacceptable.

Now, you're probably wondering what you can do to help the U. What I've come to realize is that one person can't carry a banner alone. We all need to carry the banner for the U together. I've also come to realize that we need to make some noise—that without some serious pestering, U funding will be slashed again. Hound your legislators. Be a dog at the door. Pester your elected officials. The time has come for us—the University's hundreds of thousands of alumni—to take care of our school.

If you love the University as much as I do, if you are proud to be associated with one of the state's greatest resources, give just an hour of your time to make your voice heard. Contact the legislative candidates running for seats in your district and ask them point-blank whether they will pledge to stand behind the U next session. If they won't, tell them you're voting for the candidate who will. And then do so.

The University's Legislative Network's "Vote for the U" campaign is a good place to start. Go to www.votefortheU.umn.edu and pledge to vote in the upcoming election. You'll show state and federal candidates that Minnesotans value the University (see the ad on page 28). You'll also learn how best to contact your legislators and the details about the U's budget needs, as well as how to help your legislators understand them. If you don't live in Minnesota, you can still help the University. Make a copy of this column and send it to friends and relatives who still live here.

And now I'll pester you about one last thing. Circle Tuesday, November 2, on your calendar. Remember to vote—and vote for the U!

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