Funding proposal undermines UI mission

The recent recommendation by an Iowa Board of Regents task force to allocate legislative funding largely on the basis of undergraduate Iowa residents enrolled would prove devastating to the University of Iowa.

If fully implemented, the recommended revenue model would slash our annual legislative general fund appropriation by nearly $60 million, with those funds reallocated to the other two schools. Our state appropriation has been shrinking as a part of the UI's overall budget for decades; it represents the financial foundation on which all university functions rest.

Has the UI been a responsible steward of the support we have received from Iowa's residents? The facts speak for themselves. We are the only public university in Iowa ranked in the top 30 nationally. We have numerous highly ranked programs, including writing, speech pathology and audiology, nursing, medicine, law, psychology, English, political science, sociology, art, civil and environmental engineering, and others. We are the sixth-best best college for military veterans.

We offer an unsurpassed undergraduate experience - 200-plus majors, minors and certificate programs. More than 40 percent of our undergraduates are involved in research with faculty mentors; 79 percent of dentists, 50 percent of physicians and 48 percent of pharmacists in Iowa are UI graduates. We have teachers and administrators in all Iowa school districts.

From outside the state, our faculty and staff attract more than $400 million a year in research funding. Although this funding cannot be used legally to support undergraduate teaching, it has an enormous economic impact on the state. Our overall statewide economic impact amounts to $6 billion a year, yielding about $16 in revenue for every $1 of state funding.

The UI has the additional core mission to provide high-level graduate and professional education. Our programs are world class and often are available in the regents universities only on our campus. The graduates - doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, engineers, teachers, social workers and others - provide vital services to Iowans. These programs are much more resource-intensive than undergraduate teaching.

We appreciate that our prime mission is to serve the residents of Iowa and we surely have succeeded in doing so.

However, like all great universities, the UI is a major research institution that serves our nation and the world. The recommended funding model of the regents undermines the comprehensive mission of the UI and it does a grave disservice to the residents of Iowa. It pits the three regents universities against one another in a needless financial contest. Each school has its own unique identity and mission. Why not tailor funding to the strengths of these fine universities instead of mandating a 'one size fits all” model?

' Submitted by University of Iowa professors and one-time Faculty Senate presidents: Jonathan Carlson, Carolyn Colvin, Jeffrey Cox, Edwin L. Dove, David R. Drake, Richard Fumerton, N. William Hines, Richard Hurtig, Sheldon F. Kurtz, David H. Vernon, Michael W. O'Hara, Jerald L. Schnoor, Katherine H. Tachau and Edward A. Wasserman. Comments: mike-ohara@uiowa.edu