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IU Trustees approve funding request
June 23, 2000
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Trustees of Indiana University, meeting today (June 23) on the Bloomington campus, approved a 2001-03 operating appropriations request to be submitted to the state in August for eventual consideration by the Indiana General Assembly.
The request includes funding for all IU campuses for support of on-going operations, with special emphasis on funding for the new IU School of Informatics, with programs to be offered by all IU campuses. The proposal also requests new funds to enhance student success, expand access to online library resources, and fund new degree programs that meet state and local needs.
IU President Myles Brand said, "With this budget request, I think we are doing a very responsible job of meeting current needs, while also looking to the future. Certainly, the funding we seek for the School of Informatics is a vital part of our effort to provide the educational programs our students and our state will need to be leaders in the 21st century economy. At the same time, we hope to move forward with programs to make sure that the benefits of higher education are enjoyed by the broadest possible range of Hoosier citizens."
IU is seeking nearly an 18 percent increase or $77 million in new funding over the biennium. In addition to increases in operating funding to keep pace with inflation, the budget request includes funding in four priority areas: $16 million to support the IU School of Informatics; $3 million for the IU Link initiative to extend digital library resources to all IU campuses; $4 million for programs to help students from under-represented populations (those from rural and urban areas, and members of economically disadvantaged groups) succeed at whatever IU campus they attend; and $12 million for new degree programs on various campuses which meet state and local economic needs.
The funding proposal will be sent later this summer to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education and other state reviewing agencies, which is the same process followed by all of Indiana's public post-secondary educational institutions. The format of the requests and the review schedule are determined by the reviewing agencies.
The General Assembly will receive the request next January as state lawmakers consider biennial funding for all state government operations. Appropriations approved by the General Assembly will then be sent to the governor for final action.
(Christopher Simpson, 812-855-0850, csimpson@indiana.edu or J T. Forbes, 812-855-8109, forbesjt@indiana.edu)