Dear fellow alumni and friends,
It is an honor and pleasure for
me to serve as this year's chairman of the College of Arts and Sciences Advisory
Council. The university and its liberal arts college have been an important part
of my life, and I am happy to do what I can as an external-relations volunteer.
I am one of about twenty-five CAS
volunteer council members who represent many class years, disciplines, and professions.
Our mission is to advise the dean of the college on issues related to external
relations, communication, and fundraising. On their behalf, I want to thank those
of you who have given financial support to our institution. Your gifts make a
significant difference in providing the high quality of educational programs we
have come to expect from the university. And for those of you who have not yet
participated, I urge you to do so, and to join us in helping sustain an exceptional
resource.
I have another message for you,
and again want to ask for your help.
As you may know, with the backing
of Governor John Kitzhaber and all the university system presidents, Oregon's
public universities have unveiled a dramatic change in their resource allocation
and funding model.
The new model will keep all tuition
and fees at each university. In addition, the plan calls for state funding to
be distributed according to defined allocations per student. The combined system
changes benefit all institutions by encouraging the campuses to be more flexible
and student-centered in their course and program offerings. This is a watershed
opportunity for the state of Oregon -- one that will help show Oregonians where
and how our valuable tax dollars are being spent and how the expenditures benefit
the state.
The big question now, and it cannot
be overlooked or diminished by positive-sounding rhetoric, is how will the Legislature
support this new plan? Will legislators ensure the economic prosperity and quality
of life of Oregon by reinvesting in higher education? We need your action and
participation now to ensure that the university system's biennial budget proposal
will be embraced by the Oregon House and Senate.
As you know, the University of
Oregon and its companion institutions have suffered serious cuts in higher education
funding during this past decade. Oregon's financial support for public higher
education is dangerously low, dropping by more than $150 million since 1990. The
new budget will restore us to where we were in 1991 -- but it is only a beginning
in what we hope will be a new spirit of investment and cooperation.
Higher education is vital to the
diversification and growth of Oregon's economy, and to the quality of Oregon's
social and cultural life. Now is the time to carry this message to legislators.
I urge those of you who reside in Oregon to join me in contacting our state legislators
to ask them to pledge their support for higher education. For those of you who
reside outside the state, please contact our governor or members of the Oregon
delegation to the U.S. Congress.
Sincerely,
Win Calkins '67
For a list of state representatives,
contact the UO Office
of Governmental Affairs, 10 Johnson Hall, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
97403; (541) 346-5020.
By
Win Calkins
