I regret not being with you today, but Craig will do a great job in my absence.

Last Wednesday, I learned that the Senate Higher Education Subcommittee of Appropriations would be in Milledgeville today.  The presidents of Central Georgia Technical College, Georgia Military College and Georgia College & State University have been asked to give presentations on Fiscal Year 2008 capital outlay projects.

For us, that translates into a presentation on the Parks Nursing and Health Sciences renovation project, with special attention to the fact that $1 million for equipment still must be approved during the upcoming legislative session.

When you leave the Senate meeting today, you may see me leading an entourage of golf carts around campus.  Members of the Senate Higher Education Subcommittee of Appropriations have requested to tour our campus at this time.  I plan to show them buildings on campus in need of renovation and want also to help them understand the costs involved in maintaining a campus graced by historic structures.

Immediately prior to writing this note to you, I put the final touches on our FY 2008 new funding request.  This request includes reams of benchmarking data, which, in my view, is largely good news for Georgia College.  This data shows that Georgia College is a high performing institution that is nonetheless under-resourced in comparison to its national peers.  I believe that this may create a favorable funding climate for Georgia College.

The Budget and Planning Committee will report to you on our FY 2008 funding priorities.  I shared with this committee a funding scenario based on two key assumptions:  1) 5% include to our current base budget, and 2) 7% tuition increase for incoming freshman.  Of course, at this point in time, it is impossible to know the degree to which either assumption will be fulfilled.  I promise to keep you informed as new, relevant information comes my way.