Library and Heritage Plaza Groundbreaking

We are breaking ground on the Heritage Plaza and Karen H. Huntsman Library Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 1:00 p.m! Everyone is invited to attend. Layton Construction is the contractor and even before signing the deal with DFCM last week they were fully engaged in the project. They have installed the perimeter fencing and cleared ground. It was sad to see the trees and fountain go. Some of the trees were salvageable and we have put the fountain in storage with hope to find a new home for it on campus as some time in the future.

The architect’s rendering shows an aerial view of the library and plaza from the north.

The library includes a fireplace in the entry; a Borders-like café, a dividable two-hundred seat auditorium, a spiral staircase reaching group study rooms and open study spaces on four floors, and every high tech advantage and device for efficiency and learning. It will be Central Utah’s first LEED certified high performance green building.

The plaza will include the bronze Lorenzo and Erastus Snow sculpture by Brad Taggart in the center and the legacy scholarship wall around the outside. The plaza will be the ultimate gathering place in the fall and spring—think BBQ’s and music on Fridays, concerts and dances in the evenings and a place to hang-out or study during the day.

We are fortunate to have been successful in keeping this project going amid state budget cuts. Kudos to so many people on campus who helped with the planning and design and will remain engaged through its completion.

See you Tuesday.

Here is a nice little story from the Salt Lake Tribune that covered the Rally at the Capitol last Friday:

Utah students rally against proposed ed-funds chop
Snow College president says invest in, don't cut, education

By Brain Maffly
The Salt Lake Tribune
Photo by Francisco Kjolseth/TSLT
January 31, 2009

Snow College President Scott Wyatt had been there before, on the steps of the Utah Capitol, speaking out against slashing college and university budgets. As student body president at Utah State University in 1987, Wyatt warned the cuts could corrode Utah's economic vitality.

That was the last time Utah slashed spending on higher education. This time it's worse, with proposed cuts of 15 percent for next year on top of retroactive cuts as high as 7 percent on this year's budget.

"Education is the solution, not the problem. It's not the cost, but the investment. We are the engine," Wyatt said Friday to a 400-strong contingent of students who converged on lawmakers. "For every dollar we invest, we get seven back. When times are tough, that's when you invest."
USU and Snow students, who traveled two hours by bus and carpool, dominated the festive rally with their sheer numbers.

"What's going to happen to our country in the coming years? These budget cuts are a stop-gap measure," said Emily Phillips, a Snow freshman from Salt Lake City. "They are cutting our future."

Phillips' Ephraim contingent carried signs announcing "It's raining at Snow," and sported blue and white umbrellas under a crystal blue winter sky. Snow students "Rickrolled" the rally with a rendition of Rick Astley's cheesy 1980s hit "Never Gonna Give You Up," an MTV video that would have disappeared down a memory hole if it not for an Internet gag that revived it.

Although few appreciated the students' Astley reference, the Web played a key part in Friday's display of student activism thanks to the Internet networking of USU senior Danielle Babbel. The anthropology and geography major launched a Facebook page to rally Utah students to the defense of higher education.

"It has been a great communication tool for us. We've been able to connect with students at every college," said Babbel's classmate, student vice-president Jackson Olsen, who organized the rally. He was pleased with Friday's showing, saying it dispelled "rumors of student apathy."
To uproarious approval, Snow's Wyatt urged lawmakers to tap more than $500 million in "rainy day" funds and issue bonds.

"We have access to $1 billion. That money can take the sting out of budget cuts," he said. "We can handle a 4 percent cut, but we can't handle 20 percent cuts."

USU English major Emily Arnold fears cuts of that magnitude will dismantle programs and increase class sizes. "This institution needs to be preserved the way it is," said Arnold, who graduates this year. "I'm here for the students who will come after me and for my children."
No matter where the budget ax falls this session, college students and employees can expect higher tuition, fewer class offerings and student services, and layoffs next year, with broad implications for access to and quality of a Utah college education. No other question looms larger than that of affordability.

Wyatt recalled how his mother earned 90 cents an hour as a USU student in 1955. At that rate, it took 117 hours to cover her $105 tuition. Now, a student has to work 672 hours to cover USU's $4,400 tuition.

"If you don't have your parents' backing, you can't get very far," said Snow's Emily Phillips, who chose the tiny Ephraim school because it offers high quality courses at a price half that of the University of Utah.

There is no need for a 19% budget reduction

The Utah Legislature is poised to cut FY 2010 (July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2010) budgets at unprecedented levels on January 26 when they reconvene in general session. Legislative leadership and fiscal analysts have told state agencies (including all colleges and universities) to prepare for a 15% budget reduction, which is in addition to the 4% already cut in special session last September. The combined cut for next year is approximately 19%. These budget cuts are proposed for most areas of state government including colleges and universities, prisons, services for the poor and mentally ill, state parks, courts, economic development and etc.

I understand the current economic realities in this recession. However, a decision to cut higher education and other essential services by 19% is completely unnecessary. It is a choice that will lead to layoffs of thousands of public employees in Utah, which further hurts the economy. It is also a choice to reduce access to quality education programs. A good education helps people raise their income and builds the economy more than any other single thing. Of the alternatives to the 19% budget cut, let me illustrate two options, either of which would minimize the massive budget cuts proposed, and preserve quality programs for our citizens.

1. Rainy Day Fund. Like many families and businesses in Utah, the state has a savings account, called the rainy day fund, to help us get through tough times. Prior to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 the Legislature had built up the rainy day fund to $120 million. In the aftermath of the attacks, the legislature spent the fund down to below $30 million in order to moderate the impact of the revenue shortfalls that came with the economic downturn after 9/11. Since 2003 the fund has been built back up to approximately $400 million yet the Legislature is reluctant to use it. The fund was designed to grow during good times and be used during hard times; up and down, to moderate fluctuations in the economy and state revenues. As we approach the bottom of this economic cycle we should be using the rainy day fund as it was intended—to soften the blow of the present economic downturn.

2. Transportation Funds. When I was serving in the Legislature we put a considerable amount of money into road construction. Huge transportation funds and revenue streams were built up and massive projects undertaken, all good. But every time legislators proposed increasing fund balances and revenue streams for roads, they told us the money would serve two separate purposes: first, to build necessary roads, and second, in the event of an economic decline, as a second rainy day fund. And they pointed to the successes in 2001 and 2002 when transportation funds were pulled from roads to moderate the impact of declining state revenues in the aftermath of 9/11. Unfortunately, while we see significant declining revenues this year, there appears to be great resistance to using the funds as promised—to moderate the impact of declining state revenues.

The projected state budget shortfall for FY 2010 is $450 million; it is likely to continue to grow a bit before the economy hits bottom. Using the rainy day fund and delaying or bonding road construction projects could reduce or completely eliminate the current budget shortfall. I would suggest bonding for construction projects because the cost of construction is low right now and construction projects put people to work and help pick up the economy.

Library Update

There are always a few wonderful things that come out of difficult times.

The slumping economy in Utah is partly the result of a significant drop in construction and loss of construction jobs. This has been disastrous for state revenues and a cause of our budget cuts. It also created the perfect climate to build a college library. All the big contractors in the state (and a number of the small ones) wanted to build our library and submitted bids. We have never seen so much competitive interest in any of our projects before. We opened the bids this week and interviewed contractors. And we were shocked by the bids—several million dollars less than expected. This means we can afford the library and a number of extras we thought impossible just six months ago. Additionally, the library will be a LEED certified high performance green building—a first for Snow College and Central Utah.

Layton Construction will be building our library and as soon as we get a ground breaking date we will let everyone know. Construction will begin in a few weeks and is expected to be completed a year from summer.

The library was funded two years ago. Many of us worried, with the declining state revenues, that they would take back the money and spend it somewhere else. But they didn’t. We are very fortunate. The other good news is that a project of this size will stimulate the local economy and provide good work for hundreds of people.

We should remember the two people who made this project possible: Mike Benson, our former college president, successfully raised the necessary private funds to get it going, and Rick Wheeler, a member of the Utah Legislature at the time, took it though the legislature and governor’s office for final approval. We would not be scheduling a ground breaking without Mike and Rick. Thanks.

See you at the ground breaking!

Welcome To My Blog

I have been looking for a better way to communicate with faculty, staff, students and anyone else who might be interested. Ted Olsen suggested I blog. So, here I go—my first attempt at blogging. I got a quick orientation from a student yesterday, spent a little time last night playing around with layout, and now here’s the first entry. Expect to see regular postings on a variety of issues, ideas and happenings here.

And in addition to writing, I’ll post pictures I have taken. Ever since I put together my first pinhole camera as a kid I’ve enjoyed photography. None of my pictures are worth a thousand words, but they are interesting and fun for me.

Please help this first time blogger build this into a useful venture. Post comments and send me emails. I am open to suggestions for topics to cover here and welcome feedback on my work as your college president.