Just for fun, let’s continue our 2007 session wrap-up tour of PAC 10 schools (we covered Oregon just the other day) with a closer look at Arizona and how UA and ASU fared in the recently enacted Arizona 2007-08 budget.
Spending on public universities in Arizona will increase by $115 million or just shy of 12% (excluding compensation) in the 2007-08 fiscal year. This includes $20 million for university enrollment growth; $35 million for lease purchase payments for research infrastructure; $25 million for biomedicine initiatives including funds to accelerate the design of a new biomedical campus in Phoenix; and $30 million for student and faculty retention initiatives.
Greg Fahey, who handles government relations for the University of Arizona wrote this past Tuesday in his 2007 session summary that the success of UA this past session was due to strong support from legislative supporters in key committee positions and President Robert Shelton who was a visible presence in the state capitol. Like Washington and Oregon, Arizona has a pro-business Democratic governor in Janet Napolitano who put increased funding for ASU and UA at the top of her 2007-08 budget priority list. Napolitano was also helped by a state legislature controlled by moderate Republicans and Democrats who were able to overcome the influence of those members who opposed greater support for higher education.
A report on California schools (UCLA and UC Berkeley) will have to wait. As usual, the fiscal year has already started and Golden State legislators are still wrangling with Governor Schwarzenegger over the $104 billion 2007-08 California state budget.