Senator Jeff Danielson
State Senator Jeff Danielson of Cedar Falls is organizing a public listening post at the University of Northern Iowa from 11:30 AM to 1 PM on Thursday, September 15, in the University Room of Maucker Union.
“I’ve invited key legislators to hear our community’s concerns about the state of Iowa’s vision and on-going support for UNI,” Danielson said. “That includes the impact of tuition increases on students and families and how state funding decisions affect efforts to support and enhance UNI’s national reputation for quality.”
Senator Danielson, the chair of the Senate State Government Committee, has invited Senator Brian Schoenjahn of Arlington and Senator Rob Hogg of Cedar Rapids to attend.
Compared to Iowa’s other two public universities, UNI’s student body has a much higher percentage of students from Iowa. UNI graduates are also more likely to pursue careers in Iowa, thus helping ease Iowa’s shortage of skilled workers.
“We are making progress addressing historic shortfalls in UNI’s funding,” said Senator Schoenjahn, the Senate Chair of the Joint Education Appropriations Committee. “The Iowa Senate has been able to give UNI a greater increase in state funding than called for by the existing state formula. This is good news for UNI students and their families.”
Last month, the three Senators wrote a joint letter to the Board of Regents with suggestions that would make the search for a new UNI president more inclusive and successful.
“We are cautiously optimistic with the Regents’ response so far,” Danielson said. “I’m glad, for example, that UNI faculty and community members will be an on-going part of the search process. That will help recruit the best person possible to lead UNI. Increasing faculty participation on the Board of Regents would likewise improve the effectiveness of that important organization.”
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