TO CLIPS INDEX Clips for January 28, 2009

University students turn out to protest budget cuts
KTAR 92.3 1/28/09 12:34pm
Thousands of university students descended on the
state Capitol Wednesday to protest suggested bud-
get cuts and tuition increases. Twenty-six buses from
the University of Arizona arrived about 11 a.m., and
students went right to work making noise. "It's just
ridiculous. I can never finish college," said Nicole
West, who attends Arizona State University. Her
fellow ASU student, Allison Chudy, chimed in: "This
is ridiculous that our tuition is going to go up so
much. One-thousand person classrooms, and all
of the teachers that are going to get fired." Chudy
added, "My parents are always telling me the college
fund's running out and this is ridiculous." Northern
Arizona University student Tim Wienand said
students from all three state universities "need to
come together."

Students Protest Budget Cuts
Fox 10 News 1/28/09 12:15 PM MST
It's a sign of the times: the bad economy affecting
everyone. Students from three Arizona universities
are protesting budget cuts that could affect their
classes. FOX 10's Steve Krafft reports. (Video clip)

Hundreds protest budget cuts that could hit
Arizona schools
Associated Press/ABC15.com
1/28/09 12:57 pm
Students from Arizona's three state universities
held a protest rally Wednesday near the Capitol
to protest spending cuts being considered to
help erase a state budget shortfall. There was
no firm crowd estimate for the gathering in and
around part of Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza, but
there appeared to be more than 1,000 students
on hand. Several students say they feared that
budget cuts would eliminate some classes
outright, increase the size of others and result
in the firing of faculty members -- all of which
makes it harder for students to graduate.

Ariz. university students protest proposed cuts
Associated Press/KSWT News 13
1/28/09 3:54 PM ET
PHOENIX (AP) - Sign-carrying students from
Arizona's three state universities held a protest
rally at the Capitol Wednesday to protest
spending cuts being considered by legislators
to help erase a state budget shortfall. There
appeared to be more than 1,000 students on
hand, first at Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza and
then between the House and Senate buildings.
Loud chants "hey, hey, ho, ho, these budget cuts
have got to go" reverberated off state buildings.

Ariz. university presidents offer spending cuts
Associated Press/KSWT News 13
1/28/09 1:54 PM ET
PHOENIX (AP) - Arizona state university presidents
on Wednesday proposed a $100 million package
of funding cuts that's teamed with other steps to
respond to the state's budget crisis. The presidents
are establishing a team of economists to develop
options for helping the state emerge from the
recession. They're also calling on lawmakers to
stimulate the economy by allowing previously
approved university building projects to proceed.

Possibility of ASU West closing could mean end
to higher education for many, area leaders say
The Arizona Republic 1/28/09 7:54 AM
West Valley civic leaders were stunned when Arizona
State University's West campus lost some key schools
during a round of budget cuts last year. Now the latest
news from university officials - that closing the West
and Polytechnic (Mesa) campuses is "on the table" -
makes them fear losing a vital source of growth and
pride. "It's really important for the West Valley to have
the presence of the West campus," said Jack Lunsford,
president and CEO of the Westmarc business coalition.
"Its viability to our marketplace is every bit as important
as the whole sports and entertainment effort that is
getting so much attention in the press."

Universities offer own plan for cuts
The Arizona Republic 1/28/09
Arizona's public universities on Tuesday unveiled their
offers to make cuts in their budgets this year, saying
they would strip thousands of employees of weeks of
pay and eliminate jobs and some programs. The
moves would mean larger classes, higher tuition and
less financial aid for students starting next year. The
proposal to cut $100 million from their operating
budgets before July is a move by the universities to
head off a cut more than double that size proposed
by state lawmakers.

Laurie Roberts: State's universities are being
railroaded
The Arizona Republic 1/28/09
Of all the dire warnings issued over the past few days,
as our leaders have begun revving up their chain saws,
hands down the award for the most bone-chilling comes
from Robert Shelton. The University of Arizona president
says a proposal to cut more than $100 million from his
school's budget this year would be devastating. "We
would have no alternative but to declare a financial
emergency and that would allow us to lay people off,"
he said Monday. "It is questionable that we could finish
the semester." An extended spring break may sound
good to college students - until they realize they
wouldn't be returning. Or graduating.

Students rally over budget
The Arizona Republic 1/28/09 12:45 AM
Student leaders at the University of Arizona are suggesting
that their professors give them extra credit, or an excused
day from class, if they attend today's budget-protest rally at
the state Capitol. But university officials aren't buying the
idea, at least not at Arizona State University. "It is probably
not legal for you to engage in 'call to action' activities such
as dismissing class, encouraging students to attend a
protest, or (worst case) taking students to the protest or
providing credit for attendance at a protest," ASU Provost
Elizabeth Capaldi wrote to faculty and staff.

Ailing Fulton Homes files for bankruptcy
The Arizona Republic 1/28/09
A home-building company founded by one of the Valley's
most generous philanthropists sought legal protection
from creditors Tuesday by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
reorganization. Tempe-based Fulton Homes Corp. is one
of the largest home builders based in Arizona, with 21 sub-
divisions selling homes in the Valley. ....Fulton Homes was
founded 35 years ago by Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer Ira Fulton, a prominent community figure and one
of the state's best-known philanthropists. The engineering
college at Arizona State University bears Fulton's name,
and its Mary Lou Fulton College of Education was named
after his wife in May. The couple's Fulton Foundation has
contributed more than $160 million to ASU.

House Republicans tout plan's shallower cuts
The Arizona Republic 1/28/09
Republicans in the state House of Representatives say
they have a budget plan that would restore funding for
health coverage for low-income families, as well as cut
less deeply into the universities' budget. Rep. John
Kavanagh, chairman of the House Appropriations
Committee, said he believes he has the needed 31
votes to resolve the $1.6 billion deficit in the state's
current-year budget.

Community fears for future of ASU Poly campus
The Arizona Republic 1/28/09 8:08 AM
Students, professors and administrators at Arizona State
University Polytechnic in east Mesa are swinging from
euphoria at the way new buildings have transformed the
campus to anxiety that the campus may be closed to save
money for a cash-starved University. As ASU administrators
seek ways to meet massive budget cut demands from the
Legislature, the possibility of closing one or two satellite
campuses now "is on the table," according to vice president
for public affairs Virgil Renzulli. "These cuts are so severe
that just to make the numbers work, we've put a number of
things on the table including the closing of two campuses,
the Polytechnic and West and even at that we don't know
we'd make the cuts," he said.  "Poly would be maybe the
easiest campus to close and relocate the classes. They
still would have classes, maybe in Tempe or downtown.
Poly is easier than west, which is second easiest."

Jim Ripley: ASU Poly a pawn in state budget battle
East Valley Tribune 1/27/09 11:57 am
Amid a cluster of dusty World War II-era buildings on
a closed Air Force base, Chuck Backus brought to life
what until recently was called ASU East. Now Backus
sees the East Valley campus losing its identity and
being turned into a pawn in a showdown over
legislative plans to cleave as much as $150 million
in Arizona State University funding. And he is not
happy. Backus retired in 2004 as the campus’s
founding provost after devoting 12 years of his life
to forming and nurturing what is now called ASU
Polytechnic. The former engineer is not given to 30-
second sound bites. Picture a cattle rancher lean
and tall in the saddle with a seasoned face that
betrays little of what he really thinks and you’ve
pictured.

Lawmakers reduce proposed cuts for higher ed
East Valley Tribune 1/27/09 4:06PM
GOP budget leaders in the state House on Tuesday
agreed to reduce by half the proposed budget cuts
this fiscal year for Arizona’s public universities to
$121 million. Earlier this month, the chairmen of
the state Legislature’s appropriations committees
listed a total of more than $300 million in higher
education funding cuts — $243 million alone for
this fiscal year, which ends June 30.

Mayor: Closing-campus talk 'gamesmanship'
East Valley Tribune 1/27/09 3:22PM
As if Mesa didn't have enough budget problems of
its own. On top of $62 million in cuts planned up to
June 2010, Arizona State University president
Michael Crow recently warned that the severe
budget cuts proposed could force the university to
close the Polytechnic campus in east Mesa. But
Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, who spoke Monday with
Crow to discuss the future of the institute, said he
was reassured that university officials would "do
what they could to maintain Polytech as a viable
institution."

NAU's high-profile polling lab to close in 60 days
Arizona Daily Sun 1/28/09
The latest casualty of budget cuts at Northern Arizona
University is the Social Research Laboratory and its
high-profile public opinion sampling and polling
operations. Last week, the two full-time employees
of the lab received layoff notices from the university,
giving the pair just 60 days to complete all outstanding
contractual research. The lab also employs about five
graduate students and 50 undergraduates part-time in
any given semester.

Editorial Opinion: Cuts are coming; let schools decide
where
Arizona Daily Star 1/28/09
Our view: Budget crisis should not be an excuse to
dismantle education system. The state Legislature
has thrown down the gauntlet over the value of
public education and Arizonans — parents, business
people, senior citizens, people without children —
must take up the challenge and protect a much-
needed economic engine and system that benefits
us all. Ideologues in the Legislature must not be
allowed to use this budget crisis to dismantle Arizona
schools. The Republican majority released a list of
possible cuts last week that call for a loss of about
$100 million this fiscal year and slashing a potential
$900 million in the 2010 budget. The announcement
unleashed a predictable backlash and lawmakers
said they were presenting ideas, not actual
recommendations for cuts.

Guest Opinion: J.C. Mutchler and Wanda Howell:
Protect education for good of future
Arizona Daily Star 1/28/09
Tucson, Arizona - The "Greatest Generation" that came
out of World War II is characterized by positivity, hard
work, faith in the American Dream and, not to be over-
looked, education. As millions of soldiers returned to
the United States after serving their country, the GI Bill
provided educational opportunities for unprecedented
numbers of people, both men and women. All across
America, a generation that had lived through the Great
Depression and the global crisis of war turned to
college campuses as a place for not only expanding
their intellect, but also increasing their economic
opportunities.

UA looks at worker furloughs, cuts in aid
Arizona Daily Star 1/28/09
Tucson, Arizona - UA officials could furlough workers,
curtail financial aid to high-achieving students and
raise tuition again this year as they look for ways to
cut $40 million in state tax money under plans being
considered by the Arizona Board of Regents.
Declaring a financial emergency during a special
meeting Tuesday, the regents approved a plan that
gives the presidents of each of the state's three
universities the power to force faculty members,
staffers and administrators to take unpaid days off.
University of Arizona officials haven't decided whether
they plan to furlough employees, saying unpaid leave
is one option among many they are looking at in
anticipation of state budget cuts.

Regents say no to GOP plan halving cut for universities
Capitol Media Services/Arizona Daily Sun/
Arizona Daily Star 1/28/09 
PHOENIX — House Republicans are prepared to adopt
a budget plan that cuts $121 million from the state's
three universities, half as much as had originally been
suggested, the head of the chamber's Appropriations
Committee said Tuesday. But the Board of Regents is
rejecting the plan as still unacceptable. Rep. John
Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, said late Tuesday he has
the necessary votes to push a plan through the House
to bridge the $1.6 billion gap between expenses and
revenues this budget year. It would include, in almost
equal proportions, cuts to state agencies, sweeping of
special accounts and what the state hopes to get
between now and June 30 in its share of the federal
stimulus package.

Arizona Board of Regents OKs involuntary leaves to
reduce spending
Tucson Citizen 1/28/09
The Arizona Board of Regents voted unanimously
Tuesday to declare a state of financial emergency
at Arizona's three public universities to authorize
and implement involuntary unpaid leaves for
employees. Details of the furloughs are left to each
university president's discretion, but regents said
granting exceptions to board policies on
employment, vacation, sick leave and holiday
pay would enable each university to limit layoffs
when dealing with expected budget cuts.

About 1,200 students head to Phoenix to protest
proposed university cuts
Tucson Citizen 1/28/09 9:28 am
Almost a thousand local students are on their way to
Phoenix for an organized protest against proposed
budget cuts to the University of Arizona. The students
waited in a line that snaked out the doors of UA's
Student Union around 8 a.m. to get a place in one
of the 25 buses that will shuttle them to and from
the state's capitol.  Alison Betts, chief of staff for
the graduate student council, waited to register
with fellow graduate students, Jessica Gerlach
and Stephanie Merz.  All three had hand-made
signs that read "Keep education alive," and "We
need education in Arizona."

UA's Eller College program ranked fifth among
U.S. public universities
Tucson Citizen 1/26/09 8:20 pm.
The University of Arizona's Eller College of Management's
master's of business administration program was ranked
fifth among U.S. public universities and 19th among all
U.S. schools by the Financial Times. The United
Kingdom-based news organization uses alumni career
progress, diversity and faculty research productivity
among other criteria to evaluate business schools
across the globe. Eller College's MBA program was
also ranked 41st in the world. It was 57th in 2008.

Opinion: The value of education
ASU Web Devil 1/28/09
There are whispers of something foreboding. Whether
we realize it, our lives as people living in a world
contingent upon a sense of global symbiosis — which
determines how we go about living within the bubble
of our present and imminent future — is at stake. That
phantom of a crisis has exploded into relative fruition.
The erosion of the international economy hit home in
a fashion so inimical that the foundation upon which
students at ASU are reliant, is at serious risk for
implosion.  Senate Appropriations Chairman Russell
Pearce, R-Mesa, and House Appropriations Chairman
John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, have proposed to
slash $1.5 billion from education budgets for the next
year and a half in order to help resolve the state
budget deficit. Arizona has been one of the lowest-
ranking states in education funding for years, and to
slash an already faltering education budget by such
an incredible margin does nothing to help propel the
state forward as a viable and progressive candidate
for a world in which knowledge is key to economic
stability and productivity.

Crow: University success means state success
ASU Web Devil 1/28/09
ASU will stay committed to a strategy that ensures the
success of Arizona, President Michael Crow said in a
speech Tuesday night at the Tempe Center for the Arts.
Crow’s speech delivered what he called the University’s
long-term strategic plan to about 400 members of ASU
and the local community. The plan, which looks beyond
the current budget crisis, calls for ASU to continue to
produce innovative ways to benefit students and the
community. “Universities actually have some
responsibility for the outcome of their communities,”
Crow said. For ASU to fulfill this responsibility, he said
the University must focus its resources on improving
all aspects of the community.

Taking it step by step
ASU Web Devil 1/28/09
It’s hard to believe we would ever view the potential
for losing $129 million in state funding for Arizona’s
university system as any kind of victory. However,
with the news that the infamous budget proposal
that would have cut $175 million from the universities
has come down by $46 million to $129 million, it is
a time to claim a victory — no matter how small. 
Granted, it is a victory in the way that losing a basket-
ball game 75-0 rather than 100-0 is a victory. But at
this time, it is a small glimmer of hope that did not
exist before Tuesday afternoon. Suddenly, the
seemingly inflexible legislators have been made
to look more limber. The gap has closed, with the
divide between what lawmakers are willing to cut
and what the university leaders are willing to cut
swinging favorably in the direction of Arizona’s
higher-education community.

Editorial: Professors should be lenient with students
attending protest
UA Daily Wildcat 1/28/09
With more than 2,000 students expected to show up
at today's protest at the Arizona State Capitol, UA
professors face an interesting dilemma: Should they
grant academic clemency to students who skip class
to attend the protest? We agree that this decision
should be left up to individual professors. It's certainly
outside the role of the UA deans to sanction a protest,
however righteous the cause. It would also hurt the
integrity of the protest were it to be seen as an
institutionally sponsored venture, rather than the
spontaneous effort of indignant individuals.

Budget cuts may force UA library closure
UA Daily Wildcat 1/28/09
UA campus libraries are preparing for the impact
of a likely 15 percent budget cut by exploring the
possibilities of online modules, staff cuts and, may-
be more drastically, closing a library. Carla Stoffle,
dean of libraries and creative photography, said
UA President Robert Shelton asked the libraries to
prepare for a 15 percent budget cut. She said the
reduction would happen in two parts: 5 percent this
semester and 10 percent sometime after July 1.

Protest goes to Capitol today
UA Daily Wildcat 1/28/09
Nicole Pasteur, a sociology junior, works in the ASUA
office Tuesday evening to add names into a database
of people attending today's trip to the Capitol to protest
the proposed budget cuts toward education. At 8 a.m.,
approximately 1,500 UA students are scheduled to
leave campus in 25 chartered school buses headed
for the Arizona State Capitol. UA students will join
students from Arizona State University and Northern
Arizona University to protest against the proposed
state university budget cuts. Efforts to organize the
transportation of students to Phoenix are being
sponsored by the Arizona Student Association, the
Associated Students of the University of Arizona
and the Graduate and Professional Student Council.

Tucson's poison control in peril
UA Daily Wildcat  1/28/09
The Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center on
the UA campus may close as soon as February if a
proposal before the Arizona Legislature is passed.
According to a proposal by the Joint Legislative Bud-
get Committee, the UA poison center would lose
$1.2 million in state funding, which makes up most
of its entire budget. The legislature would instead
give an additional $300,000 to the Banner Poison
Control Center in Phoenix, making it the sole
provider for the state.

ASU president braces for major budget cuts
abc15.com  1/28/096:34 am 
With the significant budget cuts on the horizon, Arizona
State University President Dr. Michael Crow fights to
keep the university financially on track. "We're ready
to swallow whatever pill necessary so long as people
are committed to what the university is all about," said
Crow Tuesday evening in Tempe. Crow said he has
met with several members of the Arizona Legislature
to address his concerns over the potential effects of
budget cuts made by the state that would affect the
university's funding.

Mesa mayor calls for calm in budget crisis
KTAR 92.3 1/27/09 11:55am
Mesa Mayor Scott Smith is calling for cooler heads
to prevail in the debate over the $1.6 billion deficit
in this year's state budget.  Possible cuts in
education funding -- one of the most controversial
ideas -- need to be realistic and not ideological,
Smith said Tuesday.  "I don't envy the position that
the Legislature and others are in because they
have a serious problem and a vast, vast majority
of the state budget is spent on education," Smith
said. ...Smith said he hopes Arizona State
University's Polytechnic Campus in Mesa will
survive the cutbacks, although it's been identified
as a possible target of funding cuts.

Top 10 Myths About Education Funding and
Budget Reductions
Goldwater Institute/Sonoran Alliance 1/27/09
Thursday, students are planning a march on the
Arizona Legislature to demand that lawmakers
not reduce funding of education programs. Law-
makers need not apologize for fixing this huge
budget deficit the former governor left. Instead,
everyone will need to tighten their belts and
practice some fiscal responsibility. There’s no
better time to learn this than when you’re a
student!

Tom Jenney: UA students protest on your dime
The Arizona Guardian 1/27/09 20:47
More than a thousand students from the University
of Arizona are planning to rally at the state capitol
Wednesday to protest proposed budget cuts. As
the Arizona Daily Star reports, some will be getting
class credit for doing so. That means they will be
spending your tax money to go down to the
Legislature and agitate in favor of taking yet more
of your tax money. (Talk about taxpayer-funded
lobbying!)  The alternatives to budget reductions
are either tax increases in the short term, or
borrowing, which will deepen Arizona's structural
deficit and eventually result in heavy tax increases,
with interest. Meanwhile, ASU's PR office has
produced a chart showing that the proposed
budget reductions would reduce the state
government subsidy for a full-time student by
about $3,000 a year.

Stimulus Plan Would Provide Flood of Aid to Education
The New York Times 1/28/09
WASHINGTON — The economic stimulus plan that
Congress has scheduled for a vote on Wednesday
would shower the nation’s school districts, child care
centers and university campuses with $150 billion in
new federal spending, a vast two-year investment that
would more than double the Department of Education’s
current budget. The proposed emergency expenditures
on nearly every realm of education, including school
renovation, special education, Head Start and grants
to needy college students, would amount to the largest
increase in federal aid since Washington began to
spend significantly on education after World War II.
Critics and supporters alike said that by its sheer scope,
the measure could profoundly change the federal
government’s role in education, which has traditionally
been the responsibility of state and local government.