TO CLIPS INDEX  Clips for January 16, 2009

ASU unveils lab that tests solar-power
equipment
The Arizona Republic 1/16/09
Scientists are pelting solar panels with ice
cubes, piling bricks on them, soaking them
in water, freezing them, thawing them out
and changing their electrical current inside
a Tempe industrial research facility. The
new TUV Rheinland PTL lab that officially
opened this week isn't a solar-panel torture
chamber, though - it's what Arizona State
University officials call the world's most
sophisticated certification facility for solar-
energy equipment.

Tempe lawyer indicted in stabbing death
of ASU student
The Arizona Republic 1/15/09 2:31 PM
A Tempe lawyer has been indicted on man-
slaughter charges for stabbing to death an
Arizona State University student who was
making a lot of noise with his friend outside
the man's home, waking him up. Daniel
Gukeisen, 37, who owned his own law firm
specializing in bankruptcy, got in a fight
with Garrett Hohn, 22, outside his town
home on the 400 block of West First Street
in Tempe just before 2 a.m. last September.

GOP budget plan slashes funds for Ariz.
education
The Arizona Republic 1/16/09
Education, from kindergarten to the state
universities, could take the biggest hit as
lawmakers try to resolve the state's looming
budget deficits, under a plan unveiled Thurs-
day by Republican budget leaders. The
proposal to cut $1.5 billion from education
budgets over the next year and a half drew
immediate protests from education
advocates, Democrats and some skeptical
Republicans. "What we shouldn't be doing
is looking at education first," said House
Minority Leader David Lujan, D-Phoenix. "It
should be the last thing we do." But tough
times call for tough measures, and the two
principal authors of the budget "options plan"
said they welcome alternative cuts if law-
makers find certain ones unacceptable.

GOP budget cuts would hit education hard
Capitol Media Services/Arizona Daily Sun/
East Valley Tribune 1/15/09 6:29PM
Republican lawmakers in charge of crafting the
state budget unveiled deficit-fixing proposals to-
day that could cut close to $900 million in state
aid to education and more than $300 million for
universities over the next 18 months. The pack-
age was presented to lawmakers as simply a list
of options. But Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa,
who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee,
said the size of the deficit could require that
virtually all of them be adopted. Democrat law-
makers responded quickly by blasting the ideas
and insisting there are better alternatives that
do not cripple education in Arizona. But some
of those are likely political nonstarters as they
involve taxing items that now are exempt.

Haeger 'shell-shocked'
Arizona Daily Sun 1/16/09
Northern Arizona University President John
Haeger reacted with dismay Thursday after
learning that legislative budget options
included funding cuts that are at least three
times larger than he believes are justified.
"I'm a bit shell-shocked," Haeger said. "We
have not even modeled a budget for cuts of
this magnitude." Republican budget leaders
included cuts to state universities totaling
about $175 million through June 30 and
$314 million for FY 2010. That would put
NAU's share at about $31 million this fiscal
year and $50 million next year. "We know the
universities are part of the solution, but the
solution cannot come solely through cuts,"
Haeger said in a press release.

Education takes big hit in GOP plan to balance
state budget
Arizona Daily Star  1/16/09
PHOENIX — State aid for K-12 education
could be cut by about $900 million and
Arizona's three universities could lose
more than $300 million between now
and 2010 under options presented
Thursday by Republican lawmakers who
will be negotiating the state budget.  In
addition to the $50 million hit Arizona's
three universities have already endured
this year, the budget appropriations chair-
men in the House and Senate identified
$314 million that could be cut from the
universities over the next 18 months, as
the state also faces a potential $3 billion
deficit next year.  If that amount were
actually proposed and passed, it would
constitute a roughly 30 percent cut to the
university system's state aid — but the
actual overall reduction would be smaller
since the state's universities receive
about $500 million in tuition revenue.

UA president up for raise - but he'll donate
the increase
Arizona Daily Star 1/15/09
UA President Robert Shelton would receive
a $50,000 raise this summer if the Arizona
Board of Regents approves a new contract
for him next week. But Shelton, who currently
makes $420,000 a year, wouldn’t pocket the
increase. Instead, he plans to donate the
money to the University of Arizona nonprofit
that funds scholarships, endowed faculty
chairs and other endeavors, according to
materials provided by the regents. The
money sent to the UA Foundation would
establish the Robert and Adrian Shelton
Philanthropic Fund, which will focus on
several priorities, including providing
financial aid for UA students.

UA coaches Lopez, Rubio likely will receive
contract extensions
Arizona Daily Star 1/16/09
Contract extensions of two University of Arizona
coaches will be up for approval next week at
the Board of Regents meeting.  Baseball coach
Andy Lopez will likely receive a 4 1/2-year deal
through June 30, 2013. His proposed base
salary is $125,000 from $101,459.  Lopez has
coached the Wildcats for seven years and led
teams to four postseason appearances,
including last year's super regional. Volleyball
coach Dave Rubio will likely receive a three-
year extension through Dec. 31, 2011. His
proposed base salary is $95,000 up from
$93,058.

Biggest college-tuition hikes in years are
expected
The Associated Press/Arizona Daily Star 
1/15/09
Most high school seniors and their families
have not made final college plans for next fall.
But they know this: It's probably going to cost
more than they had planned. Even in good
economic times, states and colleges have
largely failed to hold tuition increases in line
with inflation. Now as the slumping economy
forces states to slash spending, students
can expect the sharpest increases in years.
Families are calling on colleges to absorb
as much of the burden as possible instead
of passing the extra costs on to students. "In
my business, my customers are asking me
for price concessions," said John Schock of
Raleigh, N.C., who works in sales for a
company in the automotive industry and
whose son is looking at colleges. He said
colleges "have an obligation as well."

Shelton blasts GOP's proposed cuts
The Associated Press/Tucson Citizen
1/16/09
The presidents of the University of Arizona and
the Arizona Board of Regents called Republican
legislators' proposal to cut hundreds of millions
of dollars from higher education spending this
fiscal year and next "crippling" and
"irresponsible" Thursday. Republican lawmakers
on Thursday sketched out options for closing the
state's big budget shortfall, suggesting cuts that
could force schools and state agencies to crimp
or eliminate programs or slash their payrolls
through layoffs or other steps. Overall, possible
midyear reductions for universities would
represent 16.2 percent of this year's state
funding.

Shelton to donate $50,000 proposed raise
to UA
Tucson Citizen 1/16/09
University of Arizona President Robert N.
Shelton's new three-year contract would
give him a $50,000 raise this summer if
the Arizona Board of Regents approves
the contract next week. But Shelton has
said he will give it right back to the
university, establishing the Robert and
Adrian Shelton Philanthropic Fund,
according to a UA news release. In the
give back, Shelton - whose current salary
is $420,000 - would join a number of
university presidents who have given up
raises or bonuses this year to help their
institutions during the nation's economic
downturn.

Nearly 40 majors at UA found to produce too
few degrees
Tucson Citizen 1/16/09
University of Arizona deans have been given
a report on majors in their colleges that run
the risk of elimination due to failing to meet
the Arizona Board of Regents guidelines for
"productive" programs in terms of degrees
produced. In the worst case scenario -
eliminating every major that doesn't meet
the requirement - UA students would see
about 20 fewer undergraduate degrees and
about 20 fewer graduate degrees offered
next fall. That's unlikely to happen, though,
since deans are being given the opportunity
to explain why a particular major might be
under-producing.

Officials: Proposed budget cuts would severely
harm ASU
ASU News 1/15/09
The options proposed Jan. 15 by the Arizona
Legislature would cut the university system’s
budget by up to $243 million for the remaining
few months of fiscal year 2009, and $388 million
for fiscal year 2010. This would be the largest
higher education budget reduction in the state’s
history. Cuts of this magnitude would require
ASU to reduce costs by up to $126 million in
less than five months and $194 million next
fiscal year. ASU opened its fiscal year 2009
budget year having already taken more than
$37 million in state funding cuts in the
previous 18 months, resulting in the elimination
of 265 jobs. Since that time, the university has
taken additional actions in preparation for the
possibility of further reductions that has led to
a cumulative elimination of almost 500 staff
positions and more than 200 faculty
associates, the disestablishment of two
schools and a reduction in the number of
nursing students.

Flexible display research lauded by publication
ASU News 1/14/09
Research at Arizona State University’s Flexible
Display Center, which is laying the groundwork
for a new type of flexible information display for
computer screens and beyond, has been cited
as one of the top technological breakthroughs
in 2008 by Wired magazine. Information-rich
displays that can be carried anywhere are
tantalizingly close to reality thanks in part to the
groundbreaking work of the U.S. Army’s Flexible
Display Center at ASU, according to Wired.

Legislature floats big cuts to UA
UA Arizona Daily Wildcat 1/16/09
Republican members of the Arizona Legislature
proposed massive mid-year budget cuts that
could impose as much as a 16.2 percent
decrease in overall funding to state-funded
higher education, according to The Associated
Press. In a press release UA President Robert
Shelton said these budget cuts could "cripple
higher education in our state." "They have
suggested mid-year cuts to the university
system that could total $243 million -
approximately one-quarter of the entire
budget, with a total reduction of $388 million
into fiscal year 2010," Shelton said.

Conference to showcase biology students'
research
UA Arizona Daily Wildcat 1/16/09
UA undergraduate students will present their
research at the 20th annual Undergraduate
Biology Research Program Conference on
Saturday. About one hundred posters
displaying undergraduate research will be
presented, said Carol Bender, director of
UBRP and related programs. The event is
open to the public and will be held on the
main floor of the Thomas W. Keating Bio-
research Building from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. "I
think (the conference) will bring awareness
to different constituencies in Arizona about
the importance of undergraduate research
and the value of undergraduate research,"
Bender said. The conference will also
provide an opportunity for students to talk
to professionals in science, while at the
same time allowing the students to display
their research to their family and friends.

Captioning service to assist hearing-impaired
classmates
UA Arizona Daily Wildcat 1/16/09
As the UA transformation cuts programming,
the Disability Resource Center is launching a
new service that will provide captioning for all
in-class media including videotapes, DVDs,
Web media and podcasts. "The truth is the
university has an obligation to post things for
all students," Disability Resource Center
Associate Director Carol Funckes said. "The
amount of videos and media available has
grown so much, yet the technology available
to the students has not caught up yet." Today
will complete the first week of the new program.
In a press release distributed Jan. 8, the DRC
asked all UA instructors to only use media in
their classroom that is either closed or open
captioned. Open captioning is visible to all
students while closed captioning is an option
that instructors can enable upon request. If
the instructor's media is not captioned, the
DRC said it is able to create captions.

UA President Robert Shelton's Statement
Regarding Proposed Cuts to University Budgets
UA News 1/15/09
University of Arizona President Robert Shelton
made the following statement upon learning
of a legislative proposal that would make
crippling cuts to the UA budget: "Earlier today
legislative leadership put forward figures on
possible cuts to higher education in the State
of Arizona. They have suggested mid-year cuts
to the university system that could total $175
million – more than 16 percent – with a total
reduction of $314 million into fiscal year 2010.
"Mid-year cuts to the University of Arizona
would total approximately $70 million under
this scenario.

Astro-chemist Lucy Ziurys is a partner in the
National Science Foundation's new Center for
Chemistry of the Universe
UA News 1/15/09
Researchers at Virginia, Harvard and Ohio
universities are about to join University of
Arizona scientists and students in using the
Arizona Radio Observatory telescopes on
Mount Graham and Kitt Peak to study the
chemistry of deep space. The UA is part of
a new National Science Foundation Center
for Chemical Innovation, a collaboration
called the Center for Chemistry of the
Universe. The NSF awarded the center an
initial two-year grant of $1.5 million and,
after two years, could decide to fund the
center at $4 million per year for up to 10
years.

Rutan joins NAU-Yuma administration
Yuma Sun 1/15/09 7:38 PM
Yuma County needs more teachers, and a
former superintendent working at Northern
Arizona University-Yuma says he's ready to
help find some worthy of their apples. Doug
Rutan, former Somerton school super-
intendent, recently joined the ranks at NAU-
Yuma as coordinator of the school's education
program and as an education professor. As
head of the program that offers a four-year
teaching degree, Rutan says NAU-Yuma not
only helps produce quality teachers, it also
gives local folks the chance to enter a
profession that's always in great demand.

UA president to donate his raise
Associated Press/KTAR 1/16/09 4:55am
University of Arizona President Robert Shelton
will get a $50,000 raise if the state Board of
Regents approves a new contract for him next
week, but he plans to donate it to the university.
Shelton, who currently makes $420,000 a year,
wants to give the money to the UA nonprofit that
funds scholarships, endowed faculty chairs
and other endeavors.

State lawmakers considering education cuts
Phoenix Business Journal 1/1515/09 5:04pm MST
Arizona could cut close to $1 billion from its education
spending to help solve what could be a $4.5 billion
budget deficit for this fiscal year and next. The Arizona
Education Association teachers union said Thursday
Republican legislators are looking at cutting state
education spending by as much as $900 million to
help deal with the state budget crisis. State law-
makers and incoming governor Jan Brewer are
in a financial pickle as they grapple with the budget
deficits.

When the national economy sneezes, life
sciences get the flu
Phoenix Business Journal 1/16/09
Arizona’s life sciences industry isn’t immune
to the nation’s recession. As access to capital
continues to shrink, bioscience firms are looking
at ways to forge collaborations. “The challenges
are real,” said Michael Berens, director of the
cancer and cell biology division at the Trans-
lational Genomics Research Institute and chair-
man emeritus of the Arizona Technology Council.
“My heart hurts the most for those who are
seeking capital to get their ideas up and moving.
It’s proving to be exceptionally difficult.” A $1.2
billion state budget shortfall isn’t helping
matters, either. Funding stalled - The three state
universities are trying to build a $470 million
collaborative facility on the Phoenix Bio-
medical Campus. But funding for that project
is being held up in the Arizona Legislature, said
William Crist, the new vice president of health
affairs for the University of Arizona’s Arizona
Health Sciences Center.

Pearce crafts bill to ask voters to lift spending
restrictions
Arizona Capitol Times 1/15/09
A state senator said he plans to file legislation
by the end of the week that would ask voters to
temporarily lift a constitutional provision that
prevents lawmakers from tinkering with voter-
approved measures so that legislators could
cut more deeply into education and health
care spending to help balance a staggering
budget deficit. Sen. Russell Pearce, a
Republican from Mesa who chairs the
Senate Appropriations Committee, said he
is waiting for a handful of his colleagues to
sign on as co-sponsors before he files the
measure. "It's on my desk. A couple of folks
have asked me to hold on to the thing so
they can sign it, they want to sponsor it," he
said Jan. 14.

Republican leaders identify $3 billion in budget
cuts
Arizona Capitol Times 1/16/09
House and Senate budget leaders have identified
nearly $3 billion in budget cuts that can be made
over the next 18 months in order to help bridge
massive deficits, including nearly $1 billion in
cuts to public education and $500 million to
universities. The options, the broad strokes of
which were presented to lawmakers Jan. 15 in
a special meeting, also include $530 million in
cuts to public health care, $150 million from the
state prisons and $176 million in staffing cuts
that could result in job losses for state workers.

The Surprising Causes of Those College
Tuition Hikes
U.S. News & World Report 1/15/09
Why has college tuition been rising so high
and fast? Will college costs ever drop back
to more affordable levels? Those questions
have been frustrating parents and students
for years. A new report provides some
surprising answers that will, unfortunately,
probably only frustrate and anger them even
more. At public colleges, tuition has generally
been driven up by rising spending on
administrators, student support services,
and the need to make up for reductions in
government subsidies, according to a report
issued by the Delta Cost Project, a nonprofit
based in Washington, D.C.

Manna From Heaven (er, Washington)
Inside Higher Education 1/16/09
WASHINGTON — As colleges and students
around the country struggle with the effects
of the worldwide economic downturn, help
appears to be on the way from the nation’s
capital. And plenty of it, to judge from a draft
of a massive, $825 billion stimulus package
released by Democratic leaders in the House
of Representatives Thursday. Calculating
exactly how much of the proposed money —
$550 billion in new spending and $275 billion
in tax breaks over two years — could (if
enacted) flow to postsecondary institutions,
and to students and potential students, is
difficult because many of the proposals in
the package lack detail. It would also be pre-
mature for anyone in higher education (or any
other potential recipients of stimulus funds)
to start spending it, since (1) budget hawks
in Congress and elsewhere blanched at the
size and scope of the package, (2) this is just
the House’s version, with the Senate reportedly
drafting its own, and (3) multiple steps remain
in the process.

Stimulus Bill Includes Billions of Dollars in Help for
Students and Colleges
The Chronicle of Higher Education 1/16/09
Washington - Students, researchers, and colleges
would benefit from new spending and tax breaks
included in an $825-billion economic-stimulus
plan that Democratic leaders in the U.S. House
of Representatives unveiled on Thursday. Higher-
education lobbyists gushed over the legislation,
which includes billions of dollars for scientific
research, university facilities, and need-based
student aid. It also sets aside money for states
to limit the cuts that budget downturns might
otherwise cause them to make to key services,
including public colleges. The stimulus bill seeks
to ease the nation's financial troubles by creating
jobs, bolstering key programs and infrastructure,
and supporting efforts to improve the economy
through science and technology.