Ian Kennedy’s note to Barbara Boxer

by Ian Kennedy

I wanted to share with you this message I sent to Senator Barbara Boxer regarding federal fiscal stimulus plans:

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Senator Boxer:

Thank you for your efforts on behalf of the people of California; they are certainly appreciated. However, I feel it is important to bring another important issue to the attention of policy makers – the parlous state of public higher education. I am the Chair of the Davis Faculty Association and I represent the faculty of UC Davis. Our organization is not promoting our narrow self-interest; on the contrary, we are passionately advocating for sustaining the promise to the people of California that a previous generation supported.

The public universities of California educate far larger numbers of future teachers, doctors, engineers, artists, writers and others than any private university can hope to educate. Our system of public higher education has been withering from continuing diminution of state support. While we may not offer the sort of near-instant stimulus that so-called “shovel ready projects” offer, we can offer “learning-ready” students. They will contribute to the economic output of the state and university within a couple of years.

I urge you to include higher education within the mix of projects that will help rebuild our economy quickly after a period of disastrous malign neglect.

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