Program needs
bigger building


We are disappointed.
After being placed fifth on the Capital Facilities Appropriation Subcommittee’s list to receive funding for our teacher education building, legislators axed the original plan that provided partial funding for the top 10 projects on the capital facilities list.
Instead, legislators gave Utah State University $40 million of the $63 million available to build a new library.
We agree with Sen. Tom Hatch who argued the USU library could not be built in one year, and if approximately $20 million was allocated over two years, it would allow funding for other projects.
The phased-funding proposal had looked promising in both the House and the Senate after it came out of committee, but Gov. Michael Leavitt, an SUU alumnus, didn’t like the plan and promised to veto it, said Dorian Page, SUU associate vice president and legislative liaison.
We are disappointed with Leavitt because he promised to veto a plan that would have benefitted more students across the state of Utah by funding more buildings on more campuses.
Hatch said there was anxiety about phased funding because it would commit the Legislature to funding for the next year. We are disappointed with the Legislature for not sticking to the original proposal and pushing a plan that would benefit more schools and more of the legislators’ constituents.
This was the fifth year SUU has petitioned for funding for a teacher education building, a building that is not just wanted but highly needed.
SUU is one of the larges producers of teachers in Utah.
In the last nine years, 2,636 teachers were produced by SUU with an average of 293 teachers each year. Annually, more than 1,500 students are enrolled in undergraduate teacher licensing programs at SUU.
“It’s an absolutely needed facility on campus,” Mark Barton, vice president of university advancement, told the University Journal in August. “We are the second largest producers of teachers in the state.”
Bruce Barker, College of Education dean, said in August eight new programs have been added to the College of Education in

 

the past 10 years, including a Master of Education degree. The course offerings have grown 300 percent from 35 courses to 105 in the same time period.
Amazingly, the College of Education has done this in 9,000 square feet of space in Old Main, which is more than 100 years old.
We thank Hatch and Rep. Demar “Bud” Bowman for pushing the education building and urge them to start gaining support for the building now.
As for SUU, there are a few things that administrators can do to improve our chances of getting the new building.
Classes that are currently scheduled in the Sharwan Smith Center need to be moved to a facility that is not supported by student fees. When classes take place in the Sharwan Center, fewer classes and time used are listed in the reports to the Legislature.
SUU needs an education building. Even though the next legislative session is a year away, it is never too early to write legislators in all districts and tell them about SUU’s need for an education building.
The opinion expressed above is the collective perspective of the University Journal editorial board. The editorial board meets every Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Room 172 of the Sharwan Smith Center. Visitors are welcome.