'Dear Friends" indeed. Tax dollars running down the UC drain.




May 18, 2015

Dear Friends,

I’m always happy to start a week with good news. UC President Napolitano and Governor Brown have reached an agreement to increase state support for the University.

The agreement, part of the Governor’s revised state budget proposal, provides stable funding and significant new revenue for a system often called the jewel of public higher education in this country.

The agreement is also good news for students at all UC campuses: It will allow the University to keep tuition unchanged for California residents for the next two years, followed by predictable tuition increases pegged generally to the rate of inflation, starting in 2017-18.

Among many other benefits, the agreement also provides a one-time infusion of $436 million over three years to pay down UC’s pension liability. Additional funds will pay for critical deferred maintenance and support energy efficiency projects.

The Governor’s revised budget does not include everything we’d hoped for, so there is still work to do. It does not provide funds for the UC -- and UCR -- priority of enrolling more California students. So as the proposal moves to the Legislature, we will continue discussions aimed at securing funding to enroll additional students, given the pressing need in our state.

For now, though, my thanks to everyone who has worked with the University in recent months to advocate for increased state funding for UC. And I ask that you continue your efforts as we move toward a final state budget.

For those interested in additional detail, here is a link to UC’s release: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/pr...

Enjoy your week!

Sincerely,

Kim A. Wilcox
Chancellor