Current
Issue ...
Archives
... Request
Hard Copy ... Subscribe
... Contact
Information
Chancellor's
Column
State
legislators discuss
issues important to LSUS
In mid-December, the LSUS Foundation
and I hosted a luncheon for the area legislative delegation
with most of our Shreveport-Bossier delegation in attendance.
They, along with LSUS Foundation members and the LSUS
vice chancellors were given an overview of the university’s
priorities as we move into a new era in Louisiana higher
education.
We pointed out that enrollment at LSUS last fall was
4,337 and that level is not likely to grow significantly
over the next several years for two primary reasons:
[1] LSUS has significantly reduced remedial education
in English and math, which is the role of community
colleges, and this has contributed to a number of students
attending BPCC and SUSLA rather than LSUS; and [2] In
fall 2005, LSUS will move to selective admissions requiring
higher admission requirements and ACT scores which may
reduce the number of new freshman students eligible
for admission to LSUS. We do have an enrollment plan
in place, albeit woefully under-funded, and we’re
anxious to see the impact of selective admissions on
our overall enrollment. Unfortunately, LSUS has not
been recognized by the Board of Regents for voluntarily
reducing remediation and has not been reimbursed for
the resulting loss of tuition income to the community
colleges.
Diversity remains a major concern on our campus. I am
pleased to report that currently 25 percent of our students
are African-American. This has increased our responsibility
to seek minority faculty and staff. At present, we have
14 black professional staff members and six faculty.
I have encouraged our faculty and administrators to
increase these numbers through aggressive and innovative
recruiting.
We explained the Belden Daniels Strategic Analysis of
Northwest Louisiana and its emphasis on the need for
the community and the state to support the expanded
role of LSUS, particularly in the area of economic development
and new graduate programs including the doctoral degree.
The report clearly points out that Shreveport-Bossier
is the largest Metro Area in Louisiana lacking in the
availability of four-year and graduate degrees for our
citizens and business and industry.
At the luncheon, we also explained the unfairness of
the distribution of the Board of Regents’ Louisiana
Education Quality Support Fund [LEQSF] dollars to private
colleges and universities in Louisiana. These LEQSF
monies support academic enhancements, graduate fellowships,
endowed professorships and chairs, research and development.
The data clearly show that private colleges are receiving
more funds per full-time student than are the public
institutions. In FY 02-03, the distribution was almost
$350 per full-time enrolled student to private institutions
and less than $150 per FTE for public institutions.
This is an inequity that must be addressed by the Board
of Regents and the legislature in light of the continued
reduction of the percentage of state appropriations
for public colleges and universities.
For a number of years, thanks to our aggressive Office
of Sponsored Research, LSUS has led all institutions
in North Louisiana in total dollars awarded in grants
from the Board of Regents Support Fund and ranked fifth
of the 32 public and private institutions that made
grant applications for the 2003-04 grant cycle. Nevertheless,
the disproportionate share of support funds going to
private colleges impacts not just on LSUS but on all
public universities in Louisiana.
Dr. Phillip Rozeman, a member of the LSUS Foundation
board, an LSUS graduate, president of Shreveport-based
Cardiovascular Consultants and founder of the Alliance
of Education, told the legislators it is important to
have a strong university here. “I hate to be selfish,”
he said, “but Northwest Louisiana depends a great
deal on how strong our universities are here, and I
was frustrated when I heard the numbers [Dr. Marsala]
talked about today.”
Dr. Rozeman said he hopes the legislators will support
LSUS and the area’s community colleges, “because
that’s how we’re going to build our economy.
Every strong southern city has a strong metropolitan
university system. We have to have that here, too.”
To assure that LSUS is the kind of strong university
of which Dr. Rozeman spoke, legislators and members
of the Board of Regents must know the importance and
consequences of their actions and policies relative
to LSUS.
Finally, I urged everyone to seek out opportunities
to discuss with their fellow legislators and regents
the vital role LSUS has played and must continue to
play in the economic development of our area and in
providing higher education opportunities for our citizens.
Armed with the facts and the knowledge that their constituents
are concerned, I am confident our elected and appointed
representatives will do what is necessary to assure
LSUS receives its fair share of state funding and fulfills
its mission of service and opportunity.
|
