Lt. Gov. to discuss jobs, education at FS Tuesday

By Kirstie Hettinga
The Collegian

California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi wants to help students find jobs. He wants to make sure universities are adequately providing students the resources they need to find a place in the work force after they graduate.

“I assume students would like to earn a living,” Garamendi said in an interview with The Collegian on Wednesday.

Garamendi will be on campus Tuesday for a “listening tour” about California’s education system.

“I intend to find out what the university needs,” Garamendi said.

While Garamendi said the listening tour “is not about faculty or fee increases,” he did say he “opposes increases in student fees and tuition.”

In his inaugural address in January, Garamendi said he would use his position as a trustee for the CSU System to provide “the best education at an affordable price to every qualified California student.”

Garamendi said he believes the California economy was built on free education and the university system needs to be adequately funded.

“My view is there shouldn’t be increases,” Garamendi said. Garamendi’s campaign Web site, www.garamendi.org, said Lt. Gov. Garamendi would propose a five-year moratorium on fee and tuition increases.

Garamendi said specific issues he wanted to address at Fresno State include facilities and knowledgeable facullty. He thinks education should adequately prepare people to work and he wants to know if the university systems are providing what students need. Garamendi said he wanted to address the issues of facilities and knowledgeable faculty.

Garamendi said obtaining knowledgeable faculty does relate to faculty pay increases but that he doesn’t think the issues between the California Faculty Association and the CSU System should be resolved with the proposed CFA strike.

“I will encourage policymakers at every level to improve and simplify administration,” Garamendi said in January.

Overall, what Garamendi hopes to achieve by visiting the Valley is to find out if the higher education system is meeting the needs of the community.

“A university in a community is not only an educational forced but a cultural force,” Garamendi said.

Garamendi has served as a public servant for more than 30 years. Previously he has acted as a state senator and as California’s first elected Insurance Commissioner. He is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.

The Listening Tour of the Central Valley will be held in the viticulture and enology research center on Barstow Avenue from 12 – 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 13.

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