With only 24 hours notice, presidents of universities from all over the state hustled to Springfield Tuesday to attend a Senate Higher Education committee hearing on the budget.
Illinois State's Larry Dietz said it was frustrating considering some observers viewed it as a political stunt by Democrats to force Governor Rauner into going along with greater revenue increases.
During Sound Ideas, Dietz termed it frustrating not only for him and the other presidents, but also for elected officials. But he said making the trip to the capitol was the right thing to do.
"I drove back from Bloomington, Indiana where I was out meeting with a donor on Monday. I drove back specifically for that. I canceled my presence with the Governor and the CEO from Rivian to go down and be a part of that, and I think being part of the discussion is always very important. Being present is always important," Dietz said.
Many of the questions, according to Dietz, dealt with doomsday scenarios. He told the committee Illinois State won't shut down. He said he repeated the university's story of being successful on many levels. Dietz said the problem of Illinois high school students being lured away by great deals in other states is real and must be dealt with.
"Most of the other states that are attracting students out of state also have higher discount rates...than we've been able to afford in the state of Illinois at the institutional level. But they also have state agencies who've identified merit scholarship dollars to allow those dollars to become available to attract students across the state line," Dietz said.
During the interview, Dietz also discussed the university's procedure for determining if budget cuts will need to be made for the upcoming school year.
He also talked about why Illinois State is not technically a 'sanctuary campus' which helps protect undocumented students. He said the protections are at ISU, but self-designating as a sanctuary campus can have legal and financial repercussions.
Dietz also talked about attending the Missouri Valley Conference Men's basketball tournament in St. Louis last weekend. The Redbirds lost the championship game, but Dietz is hopeful ISU will get an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The bids are announced Sunday (Mar. 12).
“WGLT depends on financial support from users to bring you stories and interviews like this one. As someone who values experienced, knowledgeable, and award-winning journalists covering meaningful stories in central Illinois, please consider making a contribution.”
