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Senator Richard Devlin, D-Tualatin, and seven other legislators - including past ASOSU president Rep. Brian Clem, D-Salem - met in LaSells Stewart Center Monday night to hear testimony from OSU officials and students. They were hearing testimony regarding budget items that will pass before their committee later in this legislative session.

Campus community voices opinion to legislators

Representatives from OSU caution the subcommittee on further cuts to funding

By: Nick Ngo

Posted: 4/10/07

Andrew Schaefer, a student majoring in horticulture, waited patiently for his turn to present his opinion to the Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on Natural Resources regarding the approval the co-chairs' budget.

Earlier in the year, during the congressional session, OSU asked for $15 million to help fund and invest in the research of its natural resources programs. However, there was no agreement on the budget and it was not approved.

Monday night, the sub-committee conducted a session to hear responses and reasoning from OSU representatives on reasons for approving the budget.

Schaefer was one of the many students who were selected to present their views on the budget in front of the sub-committee.

"I would hate to go up there and not be able to express all I feel," Schaefer said. "I only have a little amount of time, and there's a lot I have to say."

Along with students, deans and heads of the College of Agriculture, College of Forestry, Fisheries and Wildlife Department and Extension Services were present as well. They were presenting their case to approve budgets for programs in their departments.

OSU Director of Government Relations Jock Mills said that there are different steps to proposing a budget to fund programs over the next two years.

The first step is proposing a budget to the higher education board. The board approved the required budget of $15 million. When the proposal went to Governor Kulongoski's desk, it was cut down to $5 million. The Governor passed the proposed budget on to the state Congress. An agreement couldn't be reached during the regular session.

Now, OSU is allowed a hearing to convince the Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee of why they should approve the budget.

To show the subcommittee how important the budget is, representatives from different OSU programs presented some of the current research they're conducting and the different innovations they have already discovered within their fields.

They also presented information on the number of graduate and undergraduate students enrolled, and the numbers of graduates landing a job within the first year of graduating.

Dan Edge, chairman of the department of fisheries and wildlife, said that his students have a high employment success rate after graduation. Many students are able to gain employment well before their graduation dates.

Mills was key in helping put together the meeting.

"I had a conversation with Sena tor Richard Devlin within the first month of the session," Mill said.

It was months before the subcommittee was able to have a hearing at OSU.

Devlin, who is chairman of the Joint Ways and

Means Subcommittee, said the hearing went very well.

"The presentations were quite informative," Devlin said. "It's a good time because we're right in the middle of forest and agricultural discussion."

"I think it's also good to hear from the students in the program as well. It helps understand the importance of the programs at OSU."

Mills said that getting a good responses from people who are not affiliated with the university is already a great accomplishment.

"I think the students had the greatest impact on the committee members in terms of seeing what a university can do for people and what investing in the university does for people," Mills said.

During his presentation, Schaefer mentioned that they are close to cutting-edge research in the agriculture department and the budget cut would set the research back.

"We're almost to the championships and these budget cuts will put as a step back," Schaefer said. "I would really hate that."