FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 18, 2004

Contact: Patrick Nowlan
             732-445-2278 x20

Members of the Rutgers Council of AAUP Chapters and the NJ State Conference of AAUP Chapters gathered with students, parents, and alumni in the New Jersey State Assembly chamber today to discuss the link between state funding and institutional excellence and they were reassured by government leaders that higher education would be a priority in the upcoming state budget. The forum topic, "Access to Excellence," gave special recognition to a three-year decrease in State support to NJ’s public colleges and universities while tuition and fees have increased.

Lucille Davy, special counsel to the Governor for education, spoke on the need to continue the financial aid programs supported in past budgets which assist poor students. She was sympathetic to the needs of NJ colleges and universities to provide access to a growing population of qualified students with a high quality, affordable education. She indicated that higher education is not expected to undergo cuts in addition to those already received in prior budgets.

Students mentioned that they were incurring substantial debt while enrolled at such institutions as Rutgers and that this will define their immediate future. Pointed out was the plight of poor students who could not cover the increased costs of college while working for minimum wage positions paying a static $5.15 per hour. Parents noted the sacrifices made when students need to take additional years to complete college due to insufficient space in overly crowded classrooms for required courses. Testimonials by students spoke of those whose parents were middle class, not qualifying them for financial aid, and the borrowing they must incur from multiple lenders to complete their college education.

Jon Shure from the Fairness Alliance spoke on their proposal to raise taxes from those most able to pay them: the richest 85,000 taxpayers—those earning more than $300,000—who could provide an additional $1.5 Billion in State revenue which would protect the poor, those earning less than $30,000, while paying for needed programs such as higher education. It was later pointed out by Professor Rudy Bell, President of the Rutgers Council of Chapters of the AAUP, that Shure’s proposal would benefit poor undergraduate and graduate students, many Rutgers’ workers, while only increasing the taxes of a few employees at Rutgers.

Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-15), Appropriations Committee Chair, spoke passionately about the need to provide for an affordable higher education system to serve New Jersey’s citizens and workforce. She pointed to the public hearings which will be held this Spring throughout the State to allow citizens to make public comment on budget proposals.

Assemblyman Craig A. Stanley (D-28), Chair of the Education Committee, indicated his support for a higher education bond initiative to prepare for increased enrollments of qualified students.

Nick Yovnello, President of the Council of New Jersey State College Locals of the American Federation of Teachers, representing the nine state colleges and universities, spoke of the need to restore the Chancellor of Higher Education at a Cabinet level position. He traced the record of funding over the past decade noting the lack of coordination and planning which would be requisites of a higher education system aspiring to achieve excellence.

Dan O’Connor, President of the NJ State Conference of the AAUP, spoke of the possibility of creating a Higher Education Trust Fund to provide for predictable funding for capital projects and deferred maintenance. Karen Thompson noted the plight of the 1,000 part-time faculty who teach 30% of the courses at Rutgers and who often serve as surrogates for full-time faculty. Rudy Bell, the Rutgers AAUP President, concluded the Forum on an optimistic note in calling for the citizens of New Jersey to recognize the important role served by higher education to prepare tomorrow’s leaders and provide our State with knowledgeable workforce.