UH says fund raising up 22.6 percent
By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer
University of Hawai'i fund-raising in the past 2 1/2 years has totaled $53.2 million, legislators were told yesterday and last week during extensive budget briefings by UH administrators.
That marks an increase of 22.6 percent last fiscal year above the previous year, UH President Evan Dobelle told senators, at a time when fund raising in other states for public higher education has dropped 5 percent.
At the same time, the university is poised to see its research and training grants total nearly $400 million in the current fiscal year — a doubling in the past four years.
But Manoa chancellor Peter Englert warned that the boom in research money also has a downside. There's so much research money pouring in to Manoa, he said, that the campus doesn't have enough junior faculty to handle the work.
"We're without the funding to hire," he said.
A national consultant has told UH administrators that the university is severely underfinanced — probably by as much as $80 million a year. As well, the system has a backlog of $160 million in repairs and maintenance on its 10 campuses, and everyone from regents to legislators has noted the dismal condition of some of the buildings, including science labs.
In comments to the Senate Ways and Means Committee last week, Dobelle asked senators to think about giving the university full autonomy, partly as a way to immediately tackle these kinds of problems.
"Under full autonomy we could float our own bonds, which would allow us to float bonds for buildings and laboratory equipment and repair those labs," he said.
Alternatively, Vice President for Academic Affairs David McClain pointed out that the university's accrediting body has wondered why state financing levels aren't tied to enrollment as in California.
"Enrollment drives the budget," said McClain. "When enrollment goes up, funding goes up."
Since the year 2000, enrollment at UH has risen 13 percent, almost fully reversing the enrollment drop experienced from 1994 to 2000. At UH-Hilo for instance, under chancellor Rose Tseng, enrollment has doubled since 1997. Increases there are the highest in the state system, but Tseng told policymakers that her campus "can't sustain that growth without additional resources."
During briefings to the money committees on both sides of the Legislature over the past week, UH administrators also told legislators:
• The UH Board of Regents is set to give approval this week to the Academy for Creative Media (formerly known as the film school) under the leadership of Chris Lee.
• UH will ask the Legislature to create a student scholarship fund similar to those in other states.
• Dobelle told senators he is "committed" to raising the money to repay the UH Foundation for repairs to the official president's home at College Hill, but fund raising had been slow because people are more willing to donate to scholarships than to "termite extermination projects."
• At Kapi'olani Community College, chancellor John Morton is pursuing alternate financing, including a city block grant and private money to turn the former Cannon Club into a four-year Culinary Arts Institute, a project that will total about $14 million.
• On Mau'i, a private developer is looking at building a 400-student dormitory two blocks from the Mau'i Community College campus, according to chancellor Clyde Sakamoto. No state resources would be involved, he said.
Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.
