Universities

nual research activity to nearly $1.1 billion once the facilities were completed and fully staffed.

This funding made possible the construction of numerous research and other facilities, including the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, the University of Arizona Keating Bioresearch Building and the Arizona Biomedical Collaborative 1 on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus. Northern Arizona University’s Applied Research and Development building continued NAU’s expansion into national defense and infectious disease research.

Since 2003, university invention disclosures have increased by 154 percent. The number of degrees awarded in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields by our respective institutions has nearly doubled in the last eight years alone.

The governor’s plan will position Arizona’s public universities among the nation’s leaders in the areas of research and innovation, spinning off startup companies and generating research grants and economic activity at rates not currently possible.

The influx of funding also will address a backlog of university repairs that has been accumulating for decades. A formula has long been established in state law to ensure universities receive state assistance to fund capital repairs, but the formula has only been fully funded one time, in 1999. That was four governors ago. Across Arizona’s public universities, deferred maintenance – everything from leaky roofs to decrepit air conditioning units – now stands at an estimated $671 million. These increasingly desperate repair needs are undermining our universities at the very time we are modernizing educational practices and technology, embarking on new research and enrolling students in record numbers.

What we need is a consistent, devoted and predictable revenue stream to address these maintenance issues. That’s where the Governor Ducey’s foresight and plan come in. The scope and flexibility of Governor Ducey’s capital funding proposal empowers the universities to take significant steps towards addressing these critical facility needs.

Why university growth matters

Every Arizonan has a stake in public higher education and its unbreakable bond with the economy. By the time this year’s freshman class graduates from college, it is estimated two out of every three U.S. jobs will require some kind of postsecondary education.

To help meet this employer demand, the Arizona Board of Regents has set a goal to increase the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded to 40,000 annually by 2025. That’s a 45 percent increase.

Reaching this and other lofty goals will require further innovation, including increased use of online and distance learning. But there is no question our bricks-and-mortar facilities must expand if our public universities are to continue in their role as economic engines and hubs of research and higher learning.

Attracting talented faculty and staff – and securing critical grants to keep us on the cutting edge – will require research facilities and classrooms worthy of the academic work being done inside them.

We ask legislators to say “yes” to Governor Ducey’s capital construction plan and the benefits it will bring to Arizona’s students, our universities and the larger economy.

The ABOR Enterprise Executive Committee consists of Ann Weaver Hart, president of the University of Arizona; Eileen Klein, president of the Arizona Board of Regents; Rita Cheng, president of Northern Arizona University; and Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University.