Introduction

Two years ago, when I testified on behalf of the University before this body, I was full of the optimism, enthusiasm, and commitment that marks the beginning of a presidency. I shared my vision of UNH as an outstanding public university poised to become a true partner with the State in the development of economic opportunity and improvement of the overall quality of life for all citizens of New Hampshire. All but one of the necessary pieces of the puzzle were in place -- outstanding faculty, staff, and students; a demonstrated capacity to attract external funding in support of research; loyal alumni and friends; and an attractive campus. The missing piece was, and remains, a level of State support for our operating and capital budgets sufficient to enable us to remain competitive.

I assure you that my enthusiasm and my commitment on behalf of UNH have, if anything, grown in the last two years. I am, however, more deeply concerned. The University is in a precarious position. The current biennium has been one of retrenchment, and the next biennium will be a turning point. If UNH is to greet the Year 2000 with its reputation on the rise, it is imperative that the State's investment begin to grow. The budgetary request of the University System contains the minimum level of funding for the University -- to receive anything less would precipitate a crisis.

The Current Biennium

Over the last two years the University has cut expense budgets by more than $4 million. In addition, we have predicted that even with a five percent increase in State support for our basic budget for FY00, we will face a $4.5 million deficit next year. To prevent that, we have recently announced significant reductions in academic program offerings effective next year. We have designed these reductions to have the least serious impact on our ability to fulfill our mission, but they naturally have caused considerable distress to our faculty and students and, perhaps of most concern, to prospective students and their families. We cannot continue on this path and remain the type of university that the citizens of this State deserve.

It is our responsibility to set academic priorities, to prudently manage our assets, and to ensure that we are as efficient and cost effective as possible, so that we can direct a high proportion of our limited resources toward our missions of teaching, research, and public service. We have fulfilled this responsibility: we educate UNH students at a per-student cost 16% below that of our peers.

It is our responsibility to attract growing amounts of federal and corporate funds in support of research. Success in this arena is only possible if the quality of research and scholarship by our faculty is nationally and internationally recognized as among the highest. We have fulfilled this responsibility: UNH's external research support is now almost $50 million a year.

It is our responsibility to persuade our alumni and friends to give more every year. These gifts enable us to continue to offer scholarships at levels that make UNH accessible to all qualified applicants, enable us to recruit especially distinguished faculty, and enable us to leverage State funding to bring particular programs to new heights of quality. We have fulfilled this responsibility: we broke all previous fund-raising efforts at UNH, receiving $17.74 million in gifts this past year.

It is our responsibility to position the University to provide a high quality education to all academically qualified students of this State. We have done everything in our power to fulfill this responsibility, but we cannot do this alone. The costs of instruction can be met only with tuition dollars and State funds; tuition is already too high and additional State funds are essential.

The Next Biennium

We need a new level of commitment from the State of New Hampshire in support of post-secondary education. We need this if we are to serve the State in our unique role as its only public university.

An increase of five percent per year in the next biennium will enable us to avoid additional and damaging reductions in academic program offerings. It will enable us to hold in-state tuition increases to six percent. It will enable us to continue to offer full financial aid to New Hampshire students in need. Regrettably, it will not enable us to do many new things that need attention at UNH: implementing new science curricula, expanding distance delivery of instruction, providing staffing for the expanded Library, increasing scholarship aid for worthy students, reinstating Student Affairs personnel.

An additional increase of two percent per year in the next biennium will make a crucial difference in our ability to keep pace in the area of academic technology. Through its own creativity and initiative UNH has reallocated funds to wire all of its residence halls, faculty offices, and classrooms for internet access and to double the number of computers available to students in so-called clusters. Nevertheless, we are woefully behind in bringing the full force and benefit of technology to the academic enterprise. A university that fails to keep pace in this critical area will lose its rankings. Neither the best faculty nor the brightest students will tolerate technological obsolescence, nor will the New Hampshire business community which relies upon us so heavily to supply the workforce of the future.

New Hampshire is building a knowledge-intensive economy - an economy that will require a strong public university to do the research and development that industry needs and to prepare the next generation of industrial workers and leaders.

Conclusion