In the LA Times: The UC system needs taxpayers to be more generous and reliable

On August 3, 2021, the Los Angeles Times published this letter to the editor from Dick Ackerman and Mel Levine, co-chairs of the California Coalition for Public Higher Education:

As UC Board of Regents Chairwoman Cecilia Estolano said, the future of the state and nation depend on the University of California system expanding its capacity to educate the great leaders of the future.

Expanding UC capacity requires substantial and sustained state investments in facilities and faculty. But California’s public universities don’t have dedicated funding streams or constitutional protections. The state’s current budget provided substantial increases in funding but cannot make up for all the losses over the past several years.

One-time investments are not enough. Sustained and reliable sources of funding are critical to recruiting the new faculty and adding and improving the facilities needed to expand our public university system’s capacity and ensure a stronger future for our state and nation.