State Budget—A Step in the Right Direction

July 6, 2004

Members of the Rutgers Community:

On June 30, Governor James E. McGreevey signed into law a fiscal year 2004-2005 state budget that represents a step in the right direction after three challenging years of significant reductions in state support for Rutgers. Both the Governor and the State Legislature deserve our sincere thanks for their support during this budget cycle.

Partial state support for negotiated salary increases and for recent enrollment growth are welcome additions to the university's funding base for the coming fiscal year. We are also very encouraged by the additional dollars allocated toward the development of the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey, a groundbreaking partnership of Rutgers and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

The 2005 budget also increases state support for the Tuition Aid Grant and Educational Opportunity Fund programs, which assist economically disadvantaged students. Merit aid will continue to be available for New Jersey's top high school graduates through the Outstanding Scholars Recruitment Program.

The final budget includes:

• Base state funding for Rutgers of $315.4 million, up by $1.3 million over last year.

• $12.9 million for specific initiatives in stem cell research, agriculture, athletics, business, nursing and political science.

• Full state funding for fringe benefit increases for Rutgers faculty and staff on state lines, an estimated increase of $13.5 million for a total of $158.3 million.

• An estimated $9.8 million for salary increases for Rutgers faculty and staff on state lines, about half the total cost.

• Elimination of Tuition Aid Grant language that shifted a state responsibility to the university, resulting in a savings of $1.7 million. Other increases in TAG support will accommodate additional students and increase awards. Some 10,700 Rutgers undergraduates received $39 million in state TAG awards in 2003-2004.

• Increases to the Educational Opportunity Fund that will benefit Rutgers' 2,300 EOF students.

• Continued funding for the Outstanding Scholars Recruitment Program that permits Rutgers to provide state-supported scholarships to more than 2,500 high-achieving students. Rutgers received more than $7 million in state support for Outstanding Scholars in 2003-2004.

• Funding for a state virtual library, which will give Rutgers' libraries access to selected databases.

This budget represents important progress. A special thank you is due to all of you who wrote or phoned legislators, met with officials in Trenton, participated in this year's highly successful Rutgers Day in Trenton, and in other ways worked to make the case for the university. Your efforts helped legislative leaders more fully appreciate the reasons why Rutgers must receive strong and consistent state funding.

It is vital to remember, however, that state support for Rutgers decreased significantly over the past three fiscal years. Although we recognize that complete restoration is not possible in a single year, the fact is that we are still struggling with the repercussions of this funding shortfall. Fewer courses, vacant faculty lines, deteriorating facilities, and shrinking library resources hamper our efforts to become the top public research university New Jersey deserves.

We must continue our efforts to secure more state funding in the years ahead. We must tell and re-tell our story in Trenton with compelling conviction. We must involve more citizens in advocating for their state university.

Last year Rutgers began a network that is already helping us do just that. If you haven't already joined the Friends of Rutgers, I strongly urge you to do so now. To join, go to http://for.rutgers.edu and click on "How to Join." Your support of Rutgers' advocacy efforts can make a tremendous difference in the years ahead, as we strive to make Rutgers one of the best public research universities in the nation.

Richard L. McCormick
President
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey