Jan. 14, 2009

Presentation to S.C. House Ways and Means Higher Education, Technical and Education Subcommittee

Good Morning, and Happy New Year.

This year will be like no other for the General Assembly, just like this academic year has been like no other in our university's history.

While I could never have imagined the current economic crisis, I know that, together, we will persevere ... as a state and as a state flagship university, just like families do in times of crisis.

I'm acutely aware that USC is not alone and recognize that every state agency and every other college is wrestling with ways to manage the budget. As for us, we are re-shaping the university following our 23.3 percent or $52 million budget reduction between last fiscal year and this one.

Going into next year, the university will not be recognizable as its former self, yet we pledge to persevere and to preserve most of the best that we have. But we unfortunately cannot retain our breadth and we cannot be as comprehensive as we have been.

By way of background, let me restate that we are by far the largest university in the state. We serve more than 41,000 students, over 6,000 faculty and staff and we have one quarter of a million alumni, about half of whom live in our state. I also point out that we take our economic development mission very, very seriously. We contribute about $4 billion annually to our state's economy and support about 50,000 jobs.

We are a flagship university because we have the name of our state in our very own name. We are one of only 23 public universities and one of only 31 public or private universities placed in the Carnegie Foundation's highest ranking in both research and service to their communities.

These and other figures are in the fact sheet that you have received. The handouts include headcount enrollment, tuition and financial aid comparisons, and capital projects. So the question before us now is what kind of university will we be as we progress into our third century?

 I know I don't need to remind this body that, in 1801, your very predecessors determined that there should be a public university for South Carolina and they appropriated public funds for that purpose.

The beginning of our second century (the early 1900s) saw a troubled period that followed the Civil War and Reconstruction and that was a tremendous challenge. So here we are starting our third century.

Already, we have closed hundreds of class sections; many specialized programs of study have been frozen pending further review; many positions have been eliminated through attrition; and many adjunct, part-time, and full-time instructors are not being renewed.

Of course, these decisions will affect the teaching, research and service mission of the university for as long as it takes for our budget to be restored.

Targeting Lancaster, Union and Salkehatchie, or any campus in the University of South Carolina system, without fully understanding the stakes--economic and social--is something that I oppose. Well beyond this budget crisis, the citizens of our state must have access to the many educational opportunities that the University of South Carolina provides.

However, I do support a careful, in-depth review of the full system, including each of its campuses, to ensure that we are doing everything we can to deliver a quality education, as efficiently as we possibly can, to as many South Carolina citizens as possible.

After all, it's only through an educated work force that we will be able to improve our communities, get our economy moving and compete in the knowledge-based economy.

Furloughs have been avoided so far on most campuses, but that may not be possible in the future. USC Sumter has enacted a furlough this semester, and some other campuses may do so, as well.

We recognize that furloughs are less than ideal because they create only a one-time costs savings and must be applied across-the-board on each campus. They also affect people in non-state-funded positions, such as faculty on research grants. Most important they impact the lower-paid members of our university family more adversely ... those who maintain our classrooms and grounds and who cannot afford days of lost pay.

We have severely restricted hiring, travel, equipment purchases, and even the purchases of books for our libraries. To compensate for all these steps, many staff members have taken on additional responsibilities and many are working harder with fewer resources.

We have adjusted to these cuts in the way that a physician would respond to a physical laceration--we have applied a tourniquet, tended the patient well enough to know that they will live. In our case, the university (that is the patient) will not finish in the red and we are now trying to gauge how to manage the cuts longer term and determine our ultimate prognosis.

We're embarking on a thorough analysis of the mission and purpose of each one of our campuses across the state, as well as each college and service unit on each campus. Everything is being reviewed including how we deliver our product, price our product, our budgeting model, our organizational structure, our admissions policies and enrollment management.

At stake is much more than the University of South Carolina. At stake is the well-being of South Carolina, where only 15 percent of the population have college degrees.

We can't allow the current budget crisis to shrink these numbers, and we must remain accessible and affordable to the families of South Carolina.

The future of South Carolina, particularly as we strive to compete in the global knowledge-based economy, depends critically on the education of our own people ... this means K-16, not just K-12.

We're working to expand future revenue streams including philanthropy and research dollars, but this will take time.

While tuition is a valuable and valid source of revenue, I've pledged to keep it steady or to increase it just moderately. I'm keenly aware of the large burden that a tuition increase would put on students and their families.

Let me ask you not to view the budget of the University of South Carolina as a part of the problem, but to look to our university as a part of the solution to help drive South Carolina forward out of the economic crisis and into a brighter future.

College education is key to the future of the entire state--we are the University of South Carolina, we comprise eight universities in an efficient and effective system.

We take our commitment to the state as the most important mission of the university. In a rank ordering of our priorities, commitment to South Carolina would be number 1, 2 and 3.

Let me close by reiterating that I know the plight of the state's economy and I pledge to do all I can to preserve the best that we have and, as we wait for our economy to revive, I only ask you to protect us and to encourage us to a degree commensurate with our value to the great Palmetto State.

I don't know if the current financial climate would support a bond bill this year, but I would like to express my fervent hope that a reasoned debate will take place. On the eight campuses in our system, with locations throughout our state, there are new capital projects and needed renovations that are critical.

I also ask that you protect merit scholarships that help keep our best South Carolina students in South Carolina. Education is key to the future of our entire state. We ask that you protect it as we move into this New Year.