Wakefield, RI.
By Michael A. Rice
In the last few weeks I’ve been going about town talking to voters in South Kingstown. Almost without exception there is a concern for the rising cost of state and local government and if we are getting our ‘money’s worth’ out of the taxes we are paying. Last year’s state budget (FY 2008) was a record $3.403 billion or, on average, about $3,400 annually for each person in the state. One obvious question is whether or not we are paying too much in taxes, but another equally valid question is whether we in South Kingstown are getting our fair share return of our state taxes we do pay. Do we get enough of money back from Providence? Are we getting good payoff on our investment?
By far the largest employer in South Kingstown and indeed in all of South County is the University of Rhode Island. It is important to realize that salaries paid and services rendered to URI becomes money that makes its way into local businesses, making up a healthy part of the local economy. Last year (FY 2008), the entire budget of URI was $510.9 million, of which $85.3 million was provided by the state through general revenue funds, or 16.7 percent of the total. In the most recent budget proposed by the governor and passed by the General Assembly for FY2009, the state’s ‘stake’ in URI dropped to a mere 14.2 percent, and the money provided to URI by the state for general operating expenses is a miniscule 2.4 percent of the state budget. It is sometimes said that government budgets are the only real policy documents because they reflect what is actually valued by those setting the budgets. I for one do not believe that this miniscule level of state investment in our own flagship public research university shows any understanding of the relationship between higher education and the building of leading-edge, innovative economies and healthy societies.
Numerous nationwide studies have concluded that investment in higher education, whether in the education of students or in academic research to build industries or protect the environment have tangible payoff in terms of growing the economy. We only need to look at the turf farms or the American Power Conversion Company in West Kingston to find local employers that have profited mightily through close connections with university researchers. Furthermore, arts and humanities programs provided by URI enrich the lives of most all in our South County area and these programs also constitute a considerable draw for visitors to our area. Unfortunately in the last few weeks, these critical arts programs have fallen victim to the budget woes of the University.
State investment in higher education has not always been as miserly as it is now. During the early 1970s when many of the ‘boomers’ were coming of age, Cold War concerns led to a buildup of higher education, particularly in the sciences and engineering for the purpose maintaining world technological leadership and military readiness. At that time, few middle class parents used to be saddled with sizable second mortgages to send their children to school and few college students had to work multiple jobs to pay tuition or have the misfortune of bearing many tens of thousands of dollars of student loan debt upon graduation. In 1971, the state’s stake in URI amounted to 51.84 percent of the total URI budget or 7.66 percent of the state budget. There seemed to be a recognition by the governor and legislature that building an educated middle-class work force was not only good for deterring the Soviet menace and building the economy, but it was also cheaper in the long run than dealing with the resultant social problems caused by not having a well-educated populace. It is my belief that adequate state investment in URI’s programs of instruction, research and outreach to the public is no less important now than it was 40 yeas ago, because global economic and societal challenges are not getting any easier. Transitioning to an economy based on renewable energy sources and protecting and managing the global ecosystem are tasks requiring considerable public investment and societal involvement no less than the Manhattan Project or Space Race of the past.
The University of Rhode Island has been and forever will be a critical partner in the economy of South County, whether it be in building an educated workforce, sparking innovative industries, protecting & managing our environment & natural resources, or contributing to the social well-being and cultural life of our community. I hope to work toward furthering the aims of our great hometown University within our state and build even stronger town-gown relationships. For those interested in examining the data about the RI state budget and our state’s long-term (59-year) record of investment in higher education that I’ve used in this commentary, I invite readers to visit the website: http://www.uri.edu/artsci/com/Logan/archive/benchmarks/benchmarks08.html
Michael A. Rice is a professor of fisheries & aquaculture at the University of Rhode Island and is a candidate for House of Representatives in District 35.