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In a statement issued by Associate Vice President for Communications and Marketing John Drees, the University of Louisville showed disappointment in the Kentucky Legislature for its failure to act on issues concerning U of L. Students should be equally perturbed.
The Health Sciences Campus requires a parking facility for 1,600 new patients, students and employees to go along with its new research building project. The center is another step in efforts to become a premier metropolitan research university, a state mandate.
But how is U of L supposed to meet the “mandates” of the state government if it doesn’t have the mere cooperation of the state legislature? The legislature was asked to authorize agency bonds for the project, not to allocate state funds. Given this, legislative approval should have been easy. Unfortunately, the legislative session ended Wednesday without the body addressing this and several other pressing issues affecting U of L.
The proposed $65 million expansion of Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium is facing a possible year delay despite the fact that season ticket requests and private funding are high. The state legislature is required only to pass a resolution authorizing the use of donor funds for the project; it has not been asked to provide funds, or even to authorize agency bonds.
Still, the legislature again failed to act on behalf of U of L students and the Louisville and state community.
To avoid such minor actions that are pivotal to the expansion of the university and the city of Louisville raises a lot of questions about the competence and integrity of the state legislature. Here are a few to be answered by legislators:
Do you realize that failing to give non-funded approval to major U of L projects slows the development of the school and makes these projects more costly when they are approved? Do you realize that these costs will be transferred to the students, many of whom are Kentuckians, by either rising tuition rates or declining services?
If you, our competent legislators, said “yes” to these questions, then what is your problem?
Why were certain projects that were approved in 2006 but vetoed by Gov. Fletcher, not approved again in 2007? Is it no longer important that Miller Hall, one of three freshman residence halls, be renovated now that it is 40 years old, as opposed to last year when it was 39? How is U of L expected to recruit top-notch students if we are asking them to live in obsolete housing facilities?
In his statement, Drees said that if Fletcher calls a special session, every effort will be made to authorize these projects. Unfortunately, there are far too many uncertainties in this scenario.
If students want their university to continue to improve, they should let their legislators know about it.
