Connecticut State University System

CSUS 2020: Smart Investment In State Universities

Op-Ed by David G. Carter

October 8, 2007

Connecticut is at a crossroads, and what we do - or don't do - in the days ahead will go a long way toward determining what the next 20 years will look like across our state.

Our governor and legislators are keenly interested in preserving and enhancing the fiscal health and economic vitality of the state, and have strong credentials in support of higher education. That is precisely why the 10-year, $1 billion capital investment in Central, Eastern, Southern and Western Connecticut state universities - the four universities of the Connecticut State University System - is a sound, prudent investment in Connecticut's well-being.

CSUS 2020 is squarely focused on Connecticut: our young people, our workforce, our business climate and our quality of life. As economists and demographers point out, Connecticut is changing and the opportunity to reverse unsettling trends, such as a projected drop in the number of students with four-year college degrees, is upon us right now.

Unfortunately, some inaccuracies about the process at the state Capitol have seeped into the public conversation.

The CSUS 2020 plans did not spring up overnight. Quite the contrary: They were painstakingly developed over many months, built on master facilities plans at each university and approved by the system's board of trustees.

It is necessary, therefore, to set the record straight.

A detailed list of proposed projects has been available since January. More than 70 meetings with individual legislators of both parties have been held, and specific plans outlined.

Two legislative public hearings were held, on Feb. 22 and March 1, before the Higher Education and Employment Advancement and Finance, Revenue and Bonding committees. A detailed project list was provided to committee members, and all four university presidents provided testimony.

The $1 billion capital plan, modified along the way, received overwhelming bipartisan approval by three legislative committees: Public Safety and Security, Government Administration and Elections, and Finance, Revenue and Bonding.

The CSUS 2020 plan was reviewed and approved by the bonding subcommittee of the legislature's finance committee and passed as a companion bill by the full committee.

It has also been said and reported, wrongly, that the CSUS 2020 plan does not correct the mistakes of UConn 2000. Here again, the facts are clear and incontrovertible. CSUS 2020 brings greater transparency, oversight and accountability:

Requiring the involvement of the state Department of Public Works in project management, which was not part of UConn 2000.

Requiring the state Department of Public Safety to review the design and construction of buildings for compliance with fire, safety and building codes, a provision absent from the original UConn 2000 plan

Requiring bonds to support CSUS 2020 projects to follow the usual procedures for issuance by the state treasurer, differing from UConn 2000, which issued its own bonds.

CSUS is Connecticut's largest public university system, with more students than UConn, and 93 percent of its more than 35,000 students coming from Connecticut. During the past decade, the four CSUS universities received approximately $1 of infrastructure funding for every $2 that the state provided to UConn.

Yet, across the four CSUS universities, 86 percent of graduates stay in Connecticut, with many entering high demand fields such as nursing, education, science and technology. That is why they are described as the heart and soul of Connecticut.

Continuing the funding imbalance is simply not in Connecticut's long-term best interest. With some structures dating back to the 1950s and '60s in deplorable condition, and two-thirds of all buildings approaching 30 years old, renovation and replacement is critical.

We need to prepare students not only for today's rapidly changing world but also for the world we don't know - one that lies just ahead. They will need to be agile learners, adaptable and flexible as they change careers and pursue opportunities we can only dream of.

The students, faculty and staff of Central, Eastern, Southern and Western are poised to help lead the way in advancing our great state. They trust that those in a position to do so will ensure that they are provided with their fair share of our state's resources to assist in this fundamental and essential effort.

David G. Carter is chancellor of the Connecticut State University System.

Correction: The CSUS appearence on March 1 was at an agency presentation before the bonding subcommittee of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee.

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