LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming is among just a handful of states that haven’t been cutting funding at their public research universities over the past decade, according to a new report.
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Only seven states didn’t cut funding to their public research universities between 2002 and 2010. In Wyoming, funding increased 62 percent per student over that eight-year period and, in 2010, the state led the U.S. with nearly $17,000 a year in funding per student, according to the report by the National Science Board.
State budget surpluses resulting from a boom in natural gas drilling boosted funding for the state’s only four-year public university. This year, the university is facing budget reductions of up to 8 percent due to weak gas prices.
Still, the university remains in pretty good shape.
The state’s basic contribution to UW increased from $100 million to $195 million per year over the past decade. The university added 219 new instructional positions and increased its support budget, which includes lab equipment, from $20 million to $47 million.
“Those numbers very clearly show that the University of Wyoming has benefited tremendously from strong state support. And the students here see that,” university spokesman Chad Baldwin said.
Funding per student at the nation’s 101 major public research universities declined by an average of 20 percent between 2002 and 2010, the Casper Star-Tribune reported (bit.ly/POyPAL).
Ten states cut per-student funding by between 30 and 48 percent.
Declines in state funding threaten the ability of major public research universities to educate new scientists and engineers, recruit and retain faculty and students, and continue top-quality research, the report said.
The National Science Board is the governing body of the National Science Foundation.
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Information from: Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune, http://www.trib.com
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Information from: Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune, http://www.trib.com
