- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Patrick Lenz, UC vice president for budget and capital resources, issued the following statement today, June 27, 2013, after Governor Jerry Brown signed the 2013-14 state budget:
“Today, the governor signed a state budget that represents a reinvestment in the University of California and provides critical funding stability after five years of fiscal uncertainty that challenged student access and affordability.
“The 2013-14 budget, which includes a 5 percent funding increase for UC, will allow us to freeze undergraduate tuition for the second consecutive year. We are hopeful that its multi-year UC funding plan – as well as the new Middle Income Scholarship Program – will permit campuses to hire more faculty, add much needed course sections, increase staff support and provide a new level of affordability to the university’s students and their families. The additional $142 million earmarked for the university will allow us to fund a new school of medicine in Riverside, expand a systemwide online learning initiative and construct more classrooms at UC Merced. Moreover, the university now has the authority to refinance existing debt that the state previously issued on UC’s behalf, creating savings that will go toward funding our retirement plan with potential additional savings to address other essential university programs.
“Like other state-supported entities, UC did not receive everything it asked for in this budget, but the funding increase certainly puts the university on a sound financial trajectory. We will continue to cut administrative costs and make progress on performance measures such as increasing graduation rates and shortening the time it takes to earn a degree. We thank Governor Brown and the state legislature for elevating the 2013-14 state funding to the University of California as one of their highest budget priorities.”