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Missouri State University President Dr. Michael Nietzel presented the university's budget request Tuesday to the House Education Appropriations Committee. KSMU's Missy Shelton reports.
Members of the committee received personalized budget booklets from the university...Those booklets show lawmakers how many students from their legislative district attend Missouri State and how many Missouri State alumni are in their district.
Missouri State President Michael Nietzel told the committee the university is serving a large student population with very limited resources.
In his State of the State Address, Governor Matt Blunt recommended that Missouri State University and all other institutions of higher education receive a 2 percent increase in funding.
In contrast, the Coordinating Board for Higher Education is recommending a 52 percent funding boost for Missouri State.
Nietzel explains why the Board's recommendation is significantly higher.
Nietzel told the committee that the university has begun a reallocation of resources to ensure that priorities are receiving adequate funding.
Nietzel says even though the university is receiving slightly less state funding than it did in 1999, he says the institution has kept student fee increases at a minimum.
In addition to the governor's 2 percent increase, the university is requesting about one million dollars in additional funding for three specific areas: A new collaborative engineering program with the University of Missouri Rolla, an expansion of the Missouri Virtual School, which provides specialized courses for high school students, mainly in rural areas and the operating costs of the Jordan Valley Innovation Center.
Nietzel says the Innovation Center, still in its infancy already has helped the local economy.
Nietzel's presentation to the House Education Appropriations Committee marked his first appearance before the committee since taking over as president last summer.
Lawmakers did not get a chance to ask questions or comment after Nietzel's presentation. Administrators from all public institutions of higher education each had a limited amount of time to testify before the committee.
This committee is the first stop for the university's budget as it begins to make its way through the legislative process.
