James Ramirez / The Collegian

The Collegian’s Samuel Cosby sat down with President John Welty to talk about the year in review and what’s in store for the future of Fresno State.

Samuel Cosby: ­Hi. I’m Samuel Cosby with The Collegian and today we’re here with President Welty on how things have gone this past year and what we have to look forward to in the coming years. Now, I know elections are coming up. Could you explain Jerry Brown’s tax bill to us?

John Welty: Well, the governor plans to put an initiative on that ballot that essentially asks the voters to approve a .25% [quarter-cent] increase in the sales tax and increase the income tax for those who earn $250,000 or more. If that passes, the governor has made a commitment that there will be no further cuts in higher education and there will be 4% increases beginning the year after.

SC: How likely do you think it is that we’ll see Governor Jerry Brown’s tax bill pass?

JW: ­At the moment the polls would indicate that about 54 to 55% of the voters support it. That’s a little bit low for this time of the year since election is several months off, but hopefully that support can be generated.

SC:­ And if it does pass what will this do for the university? Are we going to see immediate effects?

JW: ­Well, the most immediate effect would be that there would be no further increases in our budget for the 2012 — 13 year and thereafter. If it doesn’t pass, the governor’s indicated that there would be an additional $200 million reduction for the California State University, which would be about $10.1 million for Fresno State.

SC: ­What kind of effects would that have on our university, losing that money?

JW: ­Well that would have really disastrous consequences, especially for the 2013 — 14 years.­ It means that we would have to curtail enrollment, we’d have to seriously look at whether we can continue to offer all of the academic programs that we’re now offering, and make several other rather stringent steps in order to reduce our cost.

SC: Do we have a plan set up so that if this bill does not pass, that our university is going to be able to function at the level it is functioning now?

JW:­ Well, we have taken steps so that for next year we will draw upon reserves in order to get us through next year. We don’t have a specific plan in place yet for the 2013 — 14 year, and that is when the serious consequence would be felt.

SC:­ What kind of things are we going to see missing or happening in the 2013 — 14 year if this bill does not pass?

JW: Well if it doesn’t pass you’re probably going to see anywhere for 1,000 to 1,500 fewer students on this campus. You’re probably going to see a much smaller amount of courses available to students. And we would begin a process of looking at what majors do we have to drop in future years.

SC:­ How many years do you think that students are going to be experiencing these budget cuts?

JW: Well I think the most important think that needs to happen now, is that the state needs to get its finances stabilized. If it can do that I think we can get to a period that’s much more predictable than it has been in the past and hopefully won’t require further budget reductions.

SC:­ On top of this, how many years are the students going to be feeling the effects of the budget cuts that are taking place now?

JW: I think unfortunately it’s not likely we’re going to see a restoration of funding. So what you see this year could very well be what you’re going to see in the coming years.

SC: Do you think it will get worse?

JW: Well if there are further reductions and the state continues to disinvest in higher education, it will get worse. Yes.

SC:­ As for the enrollment freeze, which you spoke a little bit about earlier, when do you think that we’ll have this lifted?

JW: Well our plan right now is that we would admit no new students for the spring of 2013. We would wait list all applicants for the fall of 2013 until after the election. If the initiative passed then we would be able to go ahead and admit about the same size freshman and transfer class that we had this year.

SC: So if it doesn’t pass, how many years will it be until we see the enrollment freeze lifted?

JW: Well I think the freeze would be lifted as of fall of 2013 but we would accept many fewer students than we are currently accepting.

SC: How many students are we accepting right now?

JW: Well our freshman entering class is scheduled to be about 2,600 new students. Our transfer class is around 2,000 new students.

SC: Then if this enrollment freeze is not lifted for the fall of next year, how many students will we see come in?

JW: It’s hard to give a specific number, but I would guess our freshman class could go as low as 1,500. Our transfer class could also be down in the 1,700 — 1,750 range.

SC:­ Without that extra income coming in from student fees and tuition is that going to have an effect on the university as well?

JW: Well it won’t from the standpoint that, I mean obviously we’ll have smaller revenue, but the fact of the matter is that if the state doesn’t provide sufficient support we can’t afford to continue taking the same number of students that we are taking now.

SC: Now, as many faculty and staff have felt the burn of these budget cuts, including increased class sizes, limited resources and some even frozen pay, what is your response to what has happened to them and their current working conditions?

JW: Well I feel very, very sad that we’re in the position that we’re in and that the state has disinvested in public higher education. And unfortunately, I think we don’t realize the consequences of that and it will be five to eight or nine years from now that we’ll really realize the negative impact that it’s had on the state of California.

SC:­ And what kind of negative impact is going to be shown?

JW: Well very simply, we need an educated workforce in order for this economy to continue to grow. The Public Policy Institute, two years ago, predicted that we needed at least a million more college educated people by 2025 based upon the current enrollment levels in 2009. Since then we’ve actually curtailed enrollment and if we continue to curtail that million number will go much higher.

SC: One of the Teachers’ Union’s claims is that there’s too much money being spent on administration. Is there any validity to this claim?

JW: Well I think unfortunately that’s part of the rhetoric that gets thrown around in these particular times.­ We have taken serious reductions in administration. We’re one of the most efficiently operated universities in the country. And I think, as with anything, you can always try to do some additional things, but I think we are very leanly funded when it come to administration.

SC: Now going off that, administrators are often blamed for things that are more the fault of our failing economy. Do you feel like these administrators are being unfairly blamed?

JW: Well obviously when things are not going well somebody usually gets blamed. And I think the unfortunate thing is that there is not enough time taken to really understand what is happening and why the problems exist. The fact of the matter is the state has disinvested in public higher education and our elected officials have failed to make the decisions that need to be made. They are the ones that we elect to make those difficult decisions and they need to start making decisions.

SC: Now saying that the state has disinvested in higher education, where else can you see this money being cut from to help the universities and to help public education?

JW: Now I think there are a variety of issues, and I’ll give you just one example; if you look at what the state of California spends on corrections, it’s almost twice as much as any other state in this country. And at the same time our recidivism rate is almost twice as high.­ That suggests to me that something is not working in our correctional system. So I think that’s perhaps one place to take a look.

SC: What would your course of action be if the teachers were to go on strike?

JW: Well as in any case if there’s a strike, we will prepare a plan. We will take every step we can to make sure that we stay open and continue to do what we’re responsible for doing.

SC:­ Do you feel that in spite of these budget difficulties that CSU Fresno is still providing a quality education to its students?

JW: I think that we’re making every effort that we can. And I think that our faculty deserves a great deal of credit for the sacrifices that they’ve made to try to make sure that the education here is the best possible. In addition to that, our staff that works with students are also making huge sacrifices to try to make sure that our student’s are successful. And in fact our graduation rates have gone up and our retention rates have gone up. So that indicates to me that our faculty and staff are doing some additional things and are working very, very hard.

SC: Now why would students still want to come to Fresno State or any other CSU with all of the economic cutbacks and recent problems that we’ve had?

JW: Well I think it’s important to recognize that the educational experience here is still one that is still of as high a quality that we can possibly deliver. It is important to recognize that for the cost of a student to attend a university in California still is a pretty good value when compared to the rest of the country.

SC: Do you see any clear cut solutions for the budget problems we’re having?

JW: Well I think that the most fundamental solution is for the state to stabilize its financial condition. And to allow us to really be able to plan ahead over several years so that students and parents know what it’s going to cost to attend. They can plan on what courses they are going to attend. But we can’t afford to continue this practice of ducking the difficult choices that we have to make in this state.

SC: Now I know that you’re not a government official or anything, but for the state to stabilize its budget, what would it have to do.

JW: Well there’s really two things, or a combination of two. One is to increase revenues, and two is to reduce cost or to do some combination of those two.

SC: In your years working as the CSU President is this your biggest crises?

JW: I would have to say that this is the most serious financial crises that we’ve faced. Certainly there’s been other budget reductions over the years, but we’ve prolonged since 2007 and we’ve not yet gotten to a point of stability that we need to get to.

SC: How have your job and duties changed as a result of these budget cuts?

JW: Well I think there’s a few more sleepless nights. But there fundamentally, the hours are longer. The steps that we are trying to take, many people are doing parts of other jobs and sharing responsibilities. All of those have had an impact on trying to do as much as I can to alleviate the load that everyone has to carry.

SC: So you’ve been picking up other people’s jobs as well?

JW: ­I have, yes.

SC: Such as?

JW: Well I think among our senior vice president and senior staff, we have fewer people so we’re all doing different things and stepping in for each other in order to get the job done.

SC: What can we expect to see change in the coming years at CSU Fresno?

JW: Well I think we’re going to see an increased emphasis on private support, an increase emphasis in generating other revenue so that we can fill the gap that’s been generated by state support. I think the future of Fresno State is very bright because we fortunately, we’ve had a number of people willing to invest our confidence campaign has almost reached its $200 million goal. There’s a number, as I said, our graduation rates are going up. Retention is up. There’s been lots of positive indicators and I think our future is bright.

SC: Personally what would you like to see happen at CSU Fresno in the coming years?

JW: Well I think fundamentally is for us to continue to be able to serve the students that want to come to us. To make sure they get that opportunity to get a higher education. And for us to continue to provide increased service to this region.

SC: What are you ”” what are some things that you’re most proud of in your time as CSU President at Fresno State?

JW: There’s certainly been lots of things. I think the Smittcamp Family Honors College is certainly something that’s made a big difference at the university. Our faculty have grown in stature and the number of academic programs. We’ve obviously added lots of facilities. I think our university has grown significantly over the last several years. It’s a great tribute to our faculty and administrative staff.

SC: How much longer do you plan on working as the university president?

JW: Well it all depends. Maybe until tomorrow. (Laughs) No. I’ve got several things I want to get accomplished and I plan to continue to be her as long as I can make a difference.

SC : Thanks for joining us today, President Welty. For the Collegian, I’m Samuel Cosby.