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Immigrant tuition law challenged in federal court
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Attorneys verbally sparred before a federal judge Tuesday over a state law that allows certain illegal immigrants to pay the less expensive in-state tuition at Kansas public colleges.

Sebelius signs bill allowing KU workers to leave state system
Friday, April 22, 2005
Mike Auchard, a carpenter at Kansas University, worked five years to get Senate Bill 74 signed, and his labors paid off Thursday.

Bonding authority quietly put in place, then comes to light
Friday, April 22, 2005
Legislative leaders and research developers this session quietly increased by $5 million bonding authority to build research facilities at higher education institutions, it was revealed Thursday.

KU staff anticipate raises by summer
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Kansas University's classified employees could reap the benefits of opting out of the state civil service system as soon as this summer.

Sebelius signs bill to allow KU classified employees to leave civil service system
Saturday, April 9, 2005
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Friday signed into law a bill that will allow Kansas University's nearly 1,500 classified employees to leave the civil service system.

Higher-ed budget praised, but union not pleased with state pay-raise plan
Thursday, March 31, 2005
A top higher education official Wednesday described a proposed $11.2 billion budget drafted by legislative negotiators as positive for state universities, but a union didn't like how it treats state employees.

Budget negotiators advance state employee raise
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
State classified employees would get a 1.25 percent payraise July 1 and then another 1.25 payraise around January, under a spending plan approved Tuesday by House and Senate budget negotiators.

Negotiators to draft final version of proposed budget
Friday, March 25, 2005
Legislative negotiators will draft the final version of an $11 billion state budget, with senators having largely followed Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' spending plan and House members having rewritten large parts of it.

Budget bill goes to House-Senate negotiators
Thursday, March 24, 2005
(Updated Thursday at 3:04 p.m.) Legislative negotiators will draft the final version of an $11 billion state budget, with senators having largely followed Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' spending plan and House members having rewritten large parts of it.

Tuition increase likely under House plan, both sides agree
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Students and their families probably would pay higher tuition at state universities under the proposed state budget passed by the House, both supporters and critics agree.

House passes budget targeting higher ed
Saturday, March 19, 2005
House Republican leaders on Friday pushed through a state budget that would hold the line on state taxes and increase funding to public schools but make cuts to universities and delay a state employee pay raise.

House moves to cut KU's proposed budget
Friday, March 18, 2005
House budget writers Thursday paid tribute to Kansas University's basketball team -- then voted to reduce the school's proposed budget and delay a state employee pay raise.

House cuts higher education funding
Friday, March 18, 2005
(Updated Friday at 11:41 a.m.) House Republicans today voted to cut higher education funding and delay a state pay raise, according to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' administration and the Kansas Board of Regents.

Experts differ on impact of Taxpayer's Bill of Rights
Friday, March 18, 2005
Carol Hedges, a native Kansan and Kansas University law school graduate, returned home Thursday to warn Kansans about what the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights has done to Colorado.

House to vote on budget after fight over higher ed funding
Friday, March 18, 2005
State universities would receive extra money -- but not as much as some legislators want -- under the House's proposed state budget.

Hemenway blasts House budget plans
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Kansas University Chancellor Robert Hemenway on Wednesday used the backdrop of KU's annual day in the Capitol to blast House Republicans for proposing a budget that diverts funds from higher education and delays a state employee pay raise.

Colorado policy expert: Education biggest loser in TABOR proposal
Thursday, March 17, 2005
(Updated Thursday at 11:16 a.m.) A public policy expert who has monitored the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights in Colorado said Kansas should reject a similar proposal that is being considered here.

Governor, Hemenway criticize GOP funding plan
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
(Updated Wednesday at 1:26 p.m.) Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Kansas University Chancellor Robert Hemenway today blasted a House Republican budget proposal that would divert funds from higher education and delay a state employee payraise.

KU Med Center chief opposes House committee's budget
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
The chief of the Kansas University Medical Center said Tuesday that a budget proposal to delay a state employee pay raise and grab other higher education funds would "create significant problems."

Budget wipes out increases for state employees
Saturday, March 12, 2005
State employees and higher education got whacked Friday by House Republican budget-writers intent on funding public schools without a statewide tax increase.

House panel reduces governor's funding for state employees, higher ed
Friday, March 11, 2005
(Updated Friday at 1:37 p.m.) State employees and higher education took a hit today in the House budget-writing committee. The Appropriations panel recommended delaying Gov. Kathleen Sebelius proposed 2.5 percent payraise for state workers from July 1 until March 12, 2006.

Chancellor takes broad view of funding
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Despite the indications of some legislators, Kansas University Chancellor Robert Hemenway remains hopeful that funding for K-12 and higher education won't be in competition this legislative session.

Faculty pay may battle schools for state funding
Tuesday, March 8, 2005
Republicans opposed to new taxes have placed public school funding and pay raises for university faculty on a collision path.

Lawmakers form bipartisan education caucus
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Nearly two dozen legislators Wednesday formed a caucus with the aim of broadening the education debate to include higher education.

KU needs funds for medical loan program
Monday, February 14, 2005
Jen Brull admits she might have been tempted by the big city had it not been for the Kansas Medical Student Loan Program.

KU budget briefing more optimistic than recent years
Friday, February 4, 2005
It was almost a love fest Thursday when state legislative leaders met with top Kansas University officials. The annual KU budget briefing has at times been strained in recent years because of tight budgets and dropping tax revenue.

KU chancellor speaks to Kansas Senate panel
Thursday, February 3, 2005
(Updated Thursday at 3:59 p.m.) The following is the text of Kansas University Chancellor Robert Hemenway's testimony today to the Senate Ways and Means Subcommittee for Education.

Higher education briefs
Thursday, January 27, 2005
• Plan: Free tuition for slain soldiers' children
• Board backs bill allowing civil-service choice
• Regents leader says Sebelius budget fair

KU cool on push for privatization
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Higher education officials in Virginia have had enough. They've seen their support from the state erode in recent years while oversight and administrative restraints have remained in place. So they're asking the Legislature to cut back even more on state spending -- in exchange for fewer restrictions.

Budget favors higher education
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Higher education funding on Tuesday moved to the front of the class under Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' proposed budget, but public schools got left behind.

Higher education faces legislative challenges
Monday, January 10, 2005
Everyone agrees the key issue in the 2005 legislative session, which begins today, will be education.

KU lobbying team in place
Monday, January 10, 2005
Kansas University's lobbying efforts will be under new leadership this session, but don't expect major changes in how KU approaches the Legislature.

Sebelius tells Legislature to get to work
Sunday, January 2, 2005
As she prepares for the 2005 legislative session, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is urging lawmakers to get to work on school finance and defending her proposed cigarette tax increase to expand health insurance.

Regents rebut university audit
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Faculty salaries at state universities may have outpaced inflation, but increases haven't been enough to keep universities from being raided by their competitors, the president of the Kansas Board of Regents said Wednesday.

Audit: Faculty earn more, teach less
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
More faculty, making more money and spending less time teaching.

Faculty salaries surpass inflation
Monday, December 13, 2004
(Updated Friday at 5:10 p.m.) TOPEKA - The number of full-time faculty at public universities in Kansas has increased 27 percent since 1985, while the number of hours and students they teach has decreased, according to an audit released today.

Sales tax for higher education suggested
Sunday, November 14, 2004
A new report on Kansas higher education funding says the state's colleges and universities should pursue a new revenue stream -- local sales taxes.

Report: College costs rising at slower pace
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Tuition at Kansas University remains well below the national average, according to a report released Tuesday.

Committee considers special-ed guidelines
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
An advocacy group for the disabled called Monday for statewide guidelines on the use of time-out or seclusion rooms in special education and used a Lawrence school as an example of the practice.

Group starts 'marathon' higher ed funding drive
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Bill Hall has been crisscrossing the state, telling of the funding woes Kansas colleges and universities face and what should be done about it.

Bonds approved for KU research building
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
(Updated Wednesday at 10:55 a.m.) TOPEKA -- State elected leaders today approved issuing up to $55 million in bonds to build a new research building at Kansas University.

Budget flexibility eludes KU
Tuesday, October 5, 2004
Four years ago, Kansas University officials cheered when state leaders agreed they would provide public universities with a "block grant" in the annual budgeting process.

Few immigrants using new in-state tuition law
Sunday, October 3, 2004
A new Kansas law allowing certain noncitizen immigrants to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities has failed to produce the surge of enrollment that some had predicted.

Legislators question planning, funding of school leadership center
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
A state center meant to help school districts become more efficient is under fire even before it starts operation.

Higher-ed racial gap growing
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
More Kansans are going to college now than 10 years ago, but the gap between whites and minorities is widening, according to a report to be released today.

Affordability an issue across U.S.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
While noting progress in areas such as student preparation, the biennial study by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education drops the country to an "F" in affordability from the "D" it received in the nonprofit group's report two years ago.

Immigrant tuition law contested
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
The national battle over U.S. immigration policy broke out on a new, Kansas front Monday with the filing of a lawsuit on behalf of several Kansas University students and parents.

Higher education forum canceled
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
(Web Posted Tuesday at 4:01 p.m.) A forum on higher education funding scheduled for Wednesday has been canceled.

Regents chairman sets year's agenda
Monday, July 12, 2004
The tables will turn for Dick Bond in January. When the Legislature reconvenes, the longtime state senator will be chairman of the Kansas Board of Regents and a key voice for higher education.

Community colleges expect enrollment surge
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
As tuition goes up at the state's six public universities, some community colleges are bracing for enrollment boosts, with a few saying that could lead to some problems.

Governor says regents off-base with criticism
Saturday, June 26, 2004
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said Friday she was concerned with new tuition increases and disagreed with Kansas Board of Regents members who said the increases were needed to make up for miserly state spending on higher education.

College grants expanded for teens in foster care
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
Starting next month, more teenagers now in the state's foster care system will get a tuition-free shot at going to a state university or vocational school.

KU slow to hire new vice chancellor
Sunday, June 13, 2004
Kansas University has every intention of replacing Janet Murguia, the executive vice chancellor for university relations who resigned four months ago to lead the National Council of La Raza. But not right away.

Kansas faces federal college aid cuts
Friday, June 4, 2004
Students at Kansas colleges and universities would lose more than $2 million in financial aid under proposed changes to federal law, according to an analysis by the American Council on Education.

Immigrant tuition to face challenge
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
A national organization is set to challenge Kansas' new immigrant tuition law in federal court. The Federation for American Immigration Reform plans to file a lawsuit challenging the law, which will allow some illegal immigrants to pay resident tuition rates at Kansas colleges and universities.

Negotiators still at impasse on immigrant tuition plan
Monday, May 3, 2004
(Updated Monday at 12:20 p.m.) Budget negotiators remained deadlocked Monday over a proposal to grant illegal immigrants a one-year break on tuition at public colleges and universities.

Push continues for immigrant tuition break
Friday, April 2, 2004
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Thursday called on House leaders to allow in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants.

Sebelius upset with House Speaker on in-state tuition bill
Thursday, April 1, 2004
(Web Posted Thursday at 11:21 a.m.) TOPEKA - Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said today she was disappointed that House Speaker Doug Mays has put the brakes on a bill that would allow in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants.

Lawrence lawmaker taken off committee
Thursday, April 1, 2004
An effort Wednesday to revive a bill designed to provide easier access for illegal immigrants to higher education was dealt a blow, and Rep. Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence, got caught in the political crossfire.

Sloan removed from committee over tuition bill
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
(Web Posted Wednesday at 1:59 p.m.) House Speaker Doug Mays today removed state Rep. Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence, from a conference committee in a dispute over a bill that would allow illegal immigrants to be able to pay in-state tuition if they attend a public university.

KU representatives tout school's value to Kansas
Friday, March 19, 2004
Representatives of Kansas University were out in force Thursday at the Statehouse, dishing out blue-and-red sprinkled doughnuts and trying to remind budget-minded lawmakers that the state's flagship university is important to the whole state. "This is a great example of the all-inclusiveness of the university ... an opportunity for KU to highlight the outreach we do across the state," said Le-Thu Erazmus, a project manager for the KU Medical Center. "We're not just in Lawrence."

KU to lobby at Capitol to show benefits to state
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
Kansas University will take over the first floor of the Capitol on Thursday in an effort to increase its state funding.

House committee backs governor's higher-ed budget
Saturday, March 13, 2004
A House committee has endorsed a $1.72 billion higher education budget that closely resembles Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' proposal.

House panel endorses higher ed budget
Friday, March 12, 2004
(Web Posted Friday at 3:06 p.m.) TOPEKA - A House committee has endorsed a $1.72 billion higher education budget that closely resembles Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' proposal.

Senate Democratic leader takes part in online chat
Thursday, March 11, 2004
Kansas Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley took part in an online chat about legislative issues Thursday afternoon, touching on such issues as school finance, the gay marriage ban amendment and this weekend's Democratic Party state caucuses.

Universities try to stop bill opening pay records
Thursday, March 11, 2004
Higher-education officials are trying to kill an open-records bill because they don't like a part of the proposed legislation that would make public the total compensation package of high-paid state employees, a Kansas legislator said Wednesday. Rep. Jene Vickrey, R-Louisburg, said he was surprised by the position because no one from the state's major universities had testified on the open-records bill during committee action.

Sebelius: In-state tuition bill for immigrants at risk
Saturday, March 6, 2004
Republican leaders in the House are trying to kill a bill that would allow illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said Friday. Under the bill, students who are in the country illegally but have attended a Kansas high school for three years and graduated would be charged the lower resident tuition rate at public universities, community colleges and vocational colleges.

Sebelius: GOP leaders stifling immigrant tuition bill
Friday, March 5, 2004
(Updated Friday at 11:21 a.m.) TOPEKA - Gov. Kathleen Sebelius today said Republican leaders in the Kansas House were trying to kill a bill that would allow illegal immigrants to pay cheaper, in-state tuition at Kansas public universities.

House Democratic leader Dennis McKinney takes part in online chat
Friday, March 5, 2004
Welcome to our online chat with Kansas House Minority Leader Dennis McKinney. The chat took place on Thursday, March 4, at 1:30 PM and is now closed, but you can read the full transcript on this page.

State won't give public universities interest earned from tuition
Wednesday, March 3, 2004
A key lawmaker said Tuesday that a proposal to credit regents universities with interest earned on student tuition and fees probably would have to wait until next year.

Higher ed officials seek interest earned on student tuition and fees
Tuesday, March 2, 2004
(Web Posted Tuesday at 12:38 p.m.) Higher education officials today urged lawmakers to allow regents universities to keep the interest earned on student tuition and fees. Kansas University Chancellor Robert Hemenway said it wasn't fair for the interest to go the state for general spending.

Moore to meet with students
Tuesday, March 2, 2004
(Updated Tuesday at 12:04 p.m.) U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore will be the next speaker in the "Students Learning Through Leaders" series at Kansas University. Moore will deliver a lecture at 1 p.m. Friday in Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union. The speech is free and open to the public.

Sebelius asks lawmakers to approve in-state tuition for illegal immigrants
Saturday, February 28, 2004
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Friday called for approval of a bill that would allow illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at Kansas public universities.

Senate approves bill giving immigrants tuition break
Thursday, February 26, 2004
(Web Posted Thursday at 12:32 p.m.) TOPEKA - A bill lowering the cost of higher education for some illegal immigrants or their children won Senate approval Thursday after inspiring a passionate debate.

House Speaker Doug Mays takes part in online chat
Thursday, February 26, 2004
(Updated Tuesday at 4:04 p.m.) Our online chat with Kansas House Speaker Doug Mays took place on Thursday, February 26, at 3:30 PM and is now closed, but you can read the full transcript on this page. Among the topics Mays touched during the chat were school finance, gay marriage, concealed guns and even the design on the Kansas quarter.

KU students protest Sebelius' budget plan
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
College student leaders from across the state on Monday protested Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' proposal to use student fees to help balance the budget.

Student leaders lobby against Sebelius budget proposals
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Student leaders from state universities lobbied Monday against Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' proposed method of funding raises for state workers.

House backs bill speeding appeal in school finance case
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Legislation permitting the state to appeal quickly a judge's order to revise the state's school funding formula won first-round House approval Monday.

State's plans for student fees panned
Sunday, February 22, 2004
Andy Knopp figures Kansas University students knew what they were doing when they approved a $62-per-semester fee to build and operate a new Student Recreation Fitness Center.

Panel OKs higher education budget
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
A Senate committee Monday approved a $1.7 billion higher education budget but not before offering a preview of fights to come as state lawmakers argued about taxes and spending priorities. At one point, two legislators got into an argument over $500,000 for pediatric research at Kansas University Medical Center.

Panel endorses but criticizes Sebelius higher ed budget
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
A $1.7 billion higher education budget that largely mirrors the one Gov. Kathleen Sebelius proposed for 2005 has received a Senate panel's endorsement.

A look at perceived gaps in universities' 2005 budgets
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
The Senate Ways and Means Committee concluded that Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' proposed budget for the state's 2005 fiscal year did not provide enough money for state universities' general operations.

Higher education funding called into question
Monday, February 16, 2004
Three years ago, Kansas University officials thought they got what they asked for when then-Gov. Bill Graves approved what became known as block grant funding. It's an arrangement in which the state appropriated funds to KU and other regents schools, ostensibly with no strings attached. But it is not working as planned, some officials say.

Higher education budget approved
Monday, February 16, 2004
(Updated Monday at 12:10 p.m.) Senate budget writers today approved a $1.7 billion budget for Kansas higher education, but not before one senator warned that the funding level would lead to a tax increase.

Classified workers ask legislators for raise
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Classified employees from Kansas University and other regents schools lobbied lawmakers Tuesday, asking for a 7.5 percent pay increase, but not expecting to get it.

Classified employees take pay issue to Statehouse
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
(Updated Tuesday at 10:38 a.m.) TOPEKA -- About 50 classified employees from regents universities patrolled the Capitol today, talking to legislators about pay and other work issues.

KU's Hemenway testifies for more state funding
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
Kansas University officials Monday said Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' budget proposal was a "good-faith effort" but would still result in funding cuts. "The budget proposal is a significant improvement over the past two, and a solid starting point for legislative action," KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway said in testimony to a Senate subcommittee on higher education.

KU chancellor supports governor's funding recommendation
Monday, February 9, 2004
(Updated Monday at 3:34 p.m.) The following is the text of the testimony that Kansas University Chancellor Robert Hemenway presented Monday afternoon to the Senate Ways and Means Committee's higher education subcommittee. Hemenway supported the governor's funding recommendation.

Governor participates in online chat
Thursday, February 5, 2004
(Updated Tuesday at 4:05 p.m.) Gov. Kathleen Sebelius took part in an online chat today with ljworld.com readers. This was the governor's first time to meet with her constituents using an online chat format.

Graduate researchers to explain their work to state lawmakers
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
Erik Rytting is a graduate researcher at Kansas University, but today he's hoping to aid some state legislators' research.

Lawmakers unveil eco devo plan tied to biomedical research
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
(Updated Tuesday at 5:23 p.m.) Two northeast Kansas legislators today rolled out a much-anticipated $500 million plan to commercialize biomedical breakthroughs and help small businesses. State Sen. Nick Jordan and state Rep. Kenny Wilk, both Republicans, said their Kansas Economic Growth Act would make the state a leader in the growing and lucrative field of medical research and that the breakthroughs would improve quality of life across the state.

Boatright to lobby for KU
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
(Web Posted Wednesday at 11:03 a.m.) Kansas University will be sending a couple of new faces to the Statehouse this legislative session. Kevin Boatright, associate executive vice chancellor for university relations, will coordinate state governmental affairs during the 2004 legislative session. Boatright is replacing Janet Murguia, who held the position since 2001. She is leaving KU for the National Council of La Raza in Washington, D.C.

Immigrants face many hurdles on road to education
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
Considering college for Juan Jimenez isn't a matter of choosing Kansas State University or Kansas University. It's a matter of possibility. The 18-year-old Dodge City High School graduate has outlined his future, but it hinges on his legal status -- which haunts him daily.

KU presence at Sunflower sought
Thursday, January 15, 2004
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has warned she wouldn't approve any redevelopment of the defunct Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant that didn't include a life sciences research park developed in cooperation with Kansas University. "A substantial portion of the Sunflower site should be devoted to a life sciences research park," Sebelius wrote in a letter sent Wednesday to the Johnson County Commission. "This issue will be central to my approval" of the project.

Officials say Sebelius plan still equals higher ed cuts
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Despite pumping an additional $18 million into the state's higher education system, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' proposed budget would leave university administrators to cut about 2 percent out of their budgets, officials said Tuesday.

$304 million tax increase proposed for education
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius waited until the cameras were turned off Monday to propose increases in state income, sales and property taxes to fund a $304 million spending increase for public schools.

Plan includes higher ed increase
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' budget proposal includes $15.9 million in new money for the state's higher education system, and a 3 percent salary increase for those who work for colleges and universities. But it also includes more than $12 million in administrative cuts, mostly from purchasing and information technology budgets.

Sebelius names two new members of the Board of Regents
Friday, August 8, 2003
(Updated Thursday at 11:15 a.m.) Gov. Kathleen Sebelius announced on Friday she has made two new appointments to the Kansas Board of Regents -- a former state legislator and a business consultant.

Cash-poor universities ask lawmakers for repair funds
Friday, August 8, 2003
Cash-strapped lawmakers Thursday were handed an estimate of $672.4 million to fix buildings at state universities to a satisfactory condition. In addition, they were told it would cost more than $90 million to make necessary repairs to the two major state office buildings near the Capitol -- the Landon and Docking buildings. Secretary of Administration Howard Fricke said it might be more cost-effective to knock those two buildings down.

Regents send ambitious budget to governor
Thursday, June 26, 2003
When Dick Bond began discussing the Kansas Board of Regents' budget request for next year which includes a $106 million, 15.5 percent increase for higher education he didn't get far in his first statement.

Schools propose tuition boost
Friday, May 16, 2003
As state universities proposed steep tuition and fee increases for the second straight year, a member of the Kansas Board of Regents blamed the Legislature for making the tuition increases necessary. Regent Dick Bond, a former state legislator from Overland Park, said Thursday that tuition increases wouldn't be needed if legislators had committed more state funds for universities.

Regents plan budget increase request
Thursday, May 15, 2003
State higher education would receive a 14.2 percent budget increase under a proposal unveiled Wednesday before the Kansas Board of Regents.
But save for an unprecedented economic recovery between now and the next legislative session, there is no way state universities, community colleges and technical schools will get that kind of funding, regents members acknowledged.