Ask President Penley
“Ask President Penley” is a new feature on the opinion page that
allows CSU students to ask President Larry Penley questions. It
will run every other Thursday.
What is President Penley’s stance on the Academic Bill of
Rights?
Josh Metten, freshman, bio-sciences
President Larry Penley: “The freedom to express opinions openly
and honestly is at the heart of what it means to be an American,
and an American university has a very special responsibility. That
freedom extends to students as well as faculty. Associated Students
of CSU has taken a strong stance on this issue, and I appreciate
its leadership on behalf of the students. Faculty have a
professional responsibility, but they need to have the freedom to
discuss sensitive and highly charged issues in the classroom when
appropriate to the topic at hand. CSU’s grievance procedures are of
critical importance for those times when students and others
believe their civil rights have been violated.”
Is the budget crisis coming to an end soon?
Mark Matson, senior, speech communication
President Larry Penley: “I wish I could say it was, but in all
honesty, I can’t. The combination of a weak economy and the
statutory and constitutional restrictions on the state budget have
created a structural deficit in Colorado. As a result, all state
agencies have experienced budget cuts — but higher education has
taken a disproportionately large hit because it’s one of the few
areas of discretionary spending available to state leaders. CSU has
taken a $34 million cut in General Fund support, and tuition
increases have only made up less than a third of that funding. Even
as the state’s economy recovers, constitutional amendments like
TABOR restrict the resources available for funding important state
services like education. That’s why, in all the meetings I’ve been
having with leaders around the state, I’ve been trying to send the
message that challenges to Colorado higher education and CSU are
challenges to the economic prosperity of our entire state, and we
need to find positive solutions as a community that will keep our
universities strong, competitive and affordable. I know the
legislature and the governor are very concerned about this issue,
too, and we’ve been working closely with them to identify such
solutions.”
When is President Penley going to do something about parking?
Perhaps a parking garage?
Mary Shaughnessy, sophomore, Spanish
President Larry Penley: “This is one of the top complaints I
hear from students, staff and faculty — parking is a problem at
just about every university in the country! I know our Office of
Parking Services is looking at a lot of different ways to address
the issue at CSU, including building more student lots. Colorado
law requires that parking at state institutions ‘pay for itself’
through permits, meters and other charges…so the money collected
by Parking Services goes into maintaining existing spaces and
building new ones. We continue to look at the possibility of
building a parking garage, but all of us on campus who pay for
parking will wind up paying the bill, and until now, the cost of
building and maintaining a garage has really been prohibitive.”
Funding for departments has been effected. How can budget cuts
be decreased and put more money into departments so it affects
students?
Amit Bindal, graduate student, Department of Mechanical
Engineering
President Larry Penley: “This is an important question. All
areas of CSU have been affected by state budget cuts, and we’ve
worked hard to make cuts in areas that would have the lowest impact
on students. As a result, CSU now spends a smaller percentage of
its budget on administrative support than any other campus in
Colorado, including the community colleges! But most people don’t
understand that there are really only two primary sources of
funding for undergraduate education and faculty salaries at CSU:
State general fund dollars and tuition. There is a third — gifts
from friends and alumni — and I’m placing a great deal of emphasis
on boosting the level of giving to CSU. But primarily, we rely on
state funding and tuition to pay the salaries for faculty and
provide salary increases that maintain our competitiveness and help
us retain high-quality professors. CSU has wonderful success in
bringing in federal grants and contracts to support research, which
benefits our students and faculty in a lot of different ways, but
that funding doesn’t materially assist us in offering more sections
of courses in English, introductory biology and accounting. That’s
why it’s critical that we work with Colorado leaders to find some
solutions to the budget crisis facing higher education.”
Questions compiled by Opinion Editor Christopher J. Ortiz.
Answers compiled by student Ken Kim and Cara Neth, assistant to
President Penley
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