Bepko turns focus to General Assembly

On Wednesday, Interim President Gerald Bepko arrived in Bryan Hall, eager to begin work and to settle in the office left vacant by former president Myles Brand.\n"I've been coming to this office for meetings for the last 16 years, so it's pretty familiar to me," Bepko said. "I haven't had time to settle in yet, but it sure is a comfortable place to work."\nBepko will not have much time to become accustomed to his new surroundings, given that the Indiana General Assembly opened up its 2003 session on Tuesday.\nBepko said state funding is necessary to the daily operations of any public university, making the 2003 state budget so important to IU. Funds allocated by the state make up 30 percent of IU's overall budget, which is why supporters of IU are very concerned given the state's poor economic situation, IU's Chief Financial Officer Judith Palmer said.\n"The state of Indiana is in a very difficult financial position," Palmer said. "There is an $800 million deficit which has serious implications for the ability to fund higher education."\nIn recent years, funding for public higher education has decreased in Indiana. In 1975-76, Hoosier higher education received 18.4 percent of the state's general funds. That share has dwindled to 14.1 percent for the current year. \nIU and Purdue rank last among public Big Ten institutions in per-student state allocation and fees, Bepko said.\nBepko said the state's economic woes aren't improving. As a result, IU has been hammered with nearly $110 million in withheld appropriations and cuts. The majority of those cuts have been made in the administrative areas to preserve the academic funding as much as possible.\n"Generally, we scraped together funds which could be used for purchase of equipment and technology or renovation," Bepko said.\nDue to these cuts, Bepko said repairs and renovations are places "where we had a major reduction."\n"We are not doing the major repair of the buildings they way we did before," Bepko said. "We are only doing emergency things now."\nIn order to fix such problems, Bepko outlined the following goals for the General Assembly in an e-mail to all of IU's student groups and organizations:\n1) To have operating funds restored to the level of the 2001-02 academic year.\n2) To receive funding for the School of Informatics.\n3) To secure capital appropriations to build much-needed research space and to maintain and repair existing buildings.\nIn order to achieve these goals, Bepko and associates at the Indiana Commission for Higher Education will push lobbying efforts such as speaking to the General Assembly, making public statements and meeting personally with representatives.\n"It is a process that goes on 365 days a year," Bepko said. "We have to get all of our friends and alumni and supporters to give the members of the General Assembly the confidence that higher education is the key to the future."\nBepko will also present his suggestions to the House Ways and Means Committee. After that the state will allocate funds to each public university campus.\nWilliam Plater, who filled in for Bepko as Interim Chancellor of IU-Purdue University-Indianapolis, said he believes Bepko can secure IU's financial future.\n"His ability to use scarce resources wisely is reflected in the fact that about 50 new degree programs were begun at IUPUI and the state provided new funding for only two of these," Plater said. "Also, he has successfully led the IUPUI Campaign, which has exceeded its goal with 18 months still to go." \nIUPUI Vice-Chancellor Trudy Banta said Bepko not only fundraises well, but he knows how to manage the funds, too.\n"Gerry tries to have a good grasp of everything," Banta said. "He has also participated directly in all of the major decisions in all the ways the budget would be managed at IUPUI."\nOne way Bepko plans to lobby is by emphasizing how higher education fits into Governor Frank O'Bannon's Energize Indiana plan to invest in improving Indiana's economy.\n"There are two ways in which IU will help Indiana's economy," IUB Chancellor Sharon Brehm said. "First, research universities are important to a science-based economy. The other way it ensures our economic future is in preparing people to enter into the jobs that are available."\nBepko said college graduates generally earn more income.\n"It has become increasingly clear that the regions with the best economic activities are those places that produce lots of high quality college graduates," Bepko said. "If we could increase the number of college graduates who stay in Indiana, we'll do a lot to help Indiana's economy."\nBepko also stressed the role of research universities in building a strong economy.\n"In all of the hot spots, places people are going to live, you'll find research universities," Bepko said. "They are like magnets to attract people and ideas. They help to develop new products and services which will play a major role in the new economies of the future." \nAlthough Palmer said it is too early to speculate on IU's options if necessary funds weren't provided, she said, "In the past, tuition has been increased."\nBepko said he hopes IU doesn't need to consider other options, saying "all of the alternatives are bad for the university and for the state of Indiana."\nWhether hopeful or not, most IU officials agree that any decision will not be immediate. \n"I don't think any decisions will be made for a while," Bepko said. "We'll really not find out until April -- and that is if there isn't a special session called"