I won't drop the ball for UVU!

Our Utah County State Legislators Have Really Dropped the Ball for UVU Another fall semester has begun at Utah Valley University. Once again, UVU administrators are struggling with how to handle more students with less money. UVU’s enrollment is expected to grow by 11 percent this fall. That’s the latest in a pattern of rapid expansion of the student body. In 2008, UVU grew by 12 percent. Last year, it was 8 percent. That is a phenomenal growth rate, by far the largest in the state! But, unbelievably, UVU’s budget was also cut by 12 percent last year and the legislature is considering more cuts next year! That is a travesty. We should be thrilled so many students want to take advantage of Utah County’s public university. UVU is the college of choice for many of our young people through Utah Valley, the state, and even other parts of the country. The future of our valley and our state is directly correlated to these students’ ability to receive an excellent education. But such rapid growth is causing severe strain to UVU, increasing class sizes, forcing the hiring of more temporary teachers, and leading to a frantic scramble for classroom and lab space. Some facts: 1. UVU receives the least per student in state funding of any state higher education institution, and this despite its record enrollment growth. 2. UVU has one of the lowest ratios of campus space per student. 3. UVU President Matt Holland recently had to make a public appeal to Utah Valley residents to urge local legislators to support a new science building on campus. Why weren’t they more proactive? It’s high time we had state legislators from Utah County who are excited about UVU. As a representative from the UVU District to the Utah State House, I will make UVU a top priority. This is what I would do: 1. Sponsor legislation that would mandate more equalized spending across our higher education institutions. We need to place UVU on a competitive par with other higher education institutions in terms of state funding 2. Regularly attend UVU Board of Trustee meetings to understand UVU’s needs and work with the UVU Board and President Matt Holland to meet those needs. It’s embarrassing for the university president to have to make a public appeal to residents to lobby their state legislators. State legislators should be wholeheartedly on board from the very beginning. I certainly will be. 3. Create a study group of legislators to examine the creation of loan and grant programs to help low-income high school seniors qualify for tuition. We need to provide incentives for young people to go to college. Our current legislators don’t do that. For example, in 2007, a bill to provide a $300 tax break to lower income families for higher education tuition was never even voted on by the House. Orem legislator Brad Daw never supported the bill and Orem Senator Margaret Dayton voted against it. Not only would I have voted for it, I would have sponsored the legislation in the first place. 5. Be the Leader in Pushing Specific UVU Projects. Our local Orem representatives, including Brad Daw and Margaret Dayton, spend much time and energy posturing as tough guys against the federal government, but they don’t devote nearly as much energy to the needs of UVU right here in their own backyard. (Despite the fact that they represent the part of Orem that includes UVU, they did not initiate the effort to get state legislative approval of the new science building!) But this is not just an accident or an oversight: Philosophically, both Dayton and Daw are fundamentally opposed to investing in public education. I think they are out of step with the majority of people in Utah Valley. Do we really want to oppose making the best investment a society can make, which will enable all our bright young people to make the very most of their educational opportunities? Human minds are the last things we can afford to waste! I think it’s time for action. It’s time for all of us here in Utah Valley to show some pride and get behind our very own Utah Valley University! The quality of the education of our children and grandchildren depends on it. And the very future quality of our society depends on these students being able to do quality work at a quality university. Let’s not let them down! Alan Keele, Candidate for the Utah House from District 60, Orem.