Legislative Testimony

March 6, 2008
William L. Perry, President
Eastern Illinois University

Honorable Chairperson and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to stand before you today and represent Eastern Illinois University. Thank you for your support for EIU.

Our goal at Eastern is to become the best university in the country at integrating the academic and personal development of our students. We are committed to excellence, strong personal relationships, access to an Eastern education, and service to our community, region, state, nation, and world. We prepare our graduates to be lifelong learners who can compete in a knowledge economy, serve in a volunteer society, and operate in a global arena.

Your investment in higher education at EIU has been a good one. We perform well and are good stewards of the state’s resources. Here is a short list of examples:

• Our retention and graduation rates are in the top 3 among Illinois public university campuses.
• Our new student tuition rate in FY 2008 is third lowest among Illinois public university campuses.
• We continue our textbook rental system, saving our students approximately $700 a year in textbook costs.
• Our faculty are funded by external agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
• We are the second largest provider of certified public school teachers; and our retention in the profession is excellent—over 80% are still teaching five years after entering the profession.
• Of the nine Illinois public universities with at least 20 candidates sitting for the 2007 CPA examinations, EIU had the highest pass rate in the regulation section.
• Since 1996 we have reduced our electric consumption by 35%; our coal consumption by 10,000 tons per year, and our water consumption by 45%.Our energy cost per square foot is the lowest in the state.
• We have more than 100 2+2 articulation agreements with community colleges. One third of our new students each year are transfer students. We have 15 baccalaureate completion programs at ten community college sites. We have dual admission programs with six community colleges and the four community colleges of the Illinois Eastern Community Colleges system.
• Our alumni satisfaction rate is 96 percent after one year from graduation and 99 percent after nine years from graduation.
  

As we look to the future we believe that excellence in affordable higher education at Eastern will result from a robust partnership between the university and the state of Illinois. Wise investment of a balance of general appropriations and tuition revenues will continue to bring benefit to Illinois as we graduate students who are well prepared to contribute to our society. I ask for your enhanced support of higher education and Eastern Illinois University. We at Eastern pledge to you an unwavering commitment to excellence and good stewardship.

Our priorities are to invest in excellence in faculty teaching and research, to enhance service and leadership opportunities for our students, to leverage our new Doudna Fine Arts Center for enhanced education of our students and outreach to our region, to expand our study abroad programs, and to enhance our honors programming. To support affordability of an Eastern education, we will build our private fundraising capacity, we will continue to invest in sustainable operations, and we will seek efficiencies in our operations.

We are optimistic about our future, yet realistic about our challenges. Our most critical is a 1920’s vintage steam plant, which absolutely has to be replaced. Next is a 70 year old physical sciences building that needs significant capital renewal or replacement. And as you might expect there is more. We know that in the face of challenges we must shape our destiny and shape it we will. We at Eastern possess the Midwestern grit and determination to roll up our sleeves, get the job done, and do it well. That is what we have done for years and will continue to do. And we will do it for the best of all possible reasons; we will do it for our students. The purpose of the university is to educate students and to do so with excellence. Our citizens deserve no less and EIU will continue to deliver. However, having said that, the ability to deliver excellence in 2008 becomes increasingly difficult when our state appropriated resources are below 2002 levels. As state appropriated resources decrease, tuition levels increase. State appropriations and tuition dollars provide the needed resources so that we can provide a quality educational experience to the citizens of Illinois. I have said that we will get the job done, but our partnership with you does need some attention in order to keep an Illinois public university education part of the American dream. Grit and determination can only take us so far.

The accessibility of quality public university education in Illinois is at stake as we start to approach the “teen years” of the twenty first century. We at Eastern are committed to accessibility, but the historic partnership between the state and universities needs renewal in a very tangible way—with increased budget commitment from the state. Steps four and five of the IBHE investment approach to higher education funding are steps in the right direction. A renewed partnership is the key to advancement—continued small increases in state support are a recipe for decline.

Thank you for your support for higher education and for Eastern Illinois University.

I will be pleased to answer any questions you may have.