Technique Friday, January 20, 2012• Volume 97, Issue 20 • nique.net
The South’s Liveliest College Newspaper
Institute Innovators
Tech’s very own tackle some of the world's toughest problems49
HOPE revenue to fall short of demand Finance Commission: HOPE to pay 50 percent tuition in 2015 By Jordan Lockwood Staff Writer
Students receiving the HOPE scholarship may soon see additional cuts in their award amounts. By the 2014 fiscal year, HOPE scholarship amounts could dwindle as the Ga. Lottery’s revenues fail to keep up with the demand for funding. This fiscal year, the Ga. Student Finance Commission projects the state will spend about $924.9 million
on HOPE awards and prekindergarten subsidies; however, the state lottery will only generate about $846.1 million in revenues. The commission expects that the difference can be temporarily covered using reserve funds, although new rules enacted last year that prohibit the reserves from dropping below 50 percent of the previous year’s proceeds will inhibit supplemental funding for HOPE in only two to three years. According
to a presentation given by the Commission, this would lead to HOPE covering only 50 percent of tuition at a research university like Tech in 2015. The inability of the Ga. Lottery to keep up with soaring enrollment is the primary cause of funding shortages. More than 256,000 students received a HOPE scholarship last year, up from about 200,000 a decade ago. Lottery revenues have not risen significantly in several years, much too slow to sustain the
continued rise in enrollment. Despite the looming cuts, the laws governing HOPE are expected to remain the same. “At this early stage of the session, there are no plans among legislative leaders to change HOPE,” wrote Dene Sheheane, Executive Director of the Office of Government and Community Relations, in an email. Sheheane wrote that his office would monitor any poten-
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as part of the Piedmont Project. Attendees described the experience as eye-opening, uplifting and worth the hard work, keeping with the project’s motto, “A Day On, Not a Day Off.” Organizers say that the King events at the Institute are unparalleled by other universities. 2011, marking the 50th anniversary of black student matriculation at Tech, rings with a special resonance. In 1961, Tech was the first public school or university in the Deep South to peacefully integrate without a court order, putting Tech in a significant role in the scheme of the Civil Rights Movement. “Tech has always been at See MLK, page 5
See Research, page 5
See HOPE, page 3
Photos by Josh Silver and Sho Kitamura / Student Publications
Students volunteered at the National Divine Spiritual Church on Monday as part of Tech’s 2nd annual MLK Day of Service event (above, right). Speakers celebrated King’s work at the Academy of Medicine on Thursday (bottom left).
Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Tech’s campus is a unique experience, especially as the year 2011 marked the 50th anniversary of black student matriculation at Tech. Being surrounded by this history coincides with this year’s King celebration theme: The Dream and the Journey Continue. To begin the ten-day commemoration, civil rights activist Myrlie Evers-Williams delivered a speech disclosing her story of being a part of the civil rights movement in one of the most severely segregated states in the U.S. at the time. Her achievements during the movement and thereafter, for which her first
husband lost his life, place her in the ranks of women such as Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz. Emma Bones, a fourthyear EnvE major, described the speech as “phenomenal and really quite moving.” “[The speech] reminded me of just how far we have to go and how much change we have to embark on to make this world a better place,” said Gail Greene, Director of Human Resources in the College of Management. Following Evers-Williams’ speech, Tech students and faculty celebrated at the MLK Campus-Wide Celebration located at the Academy of Medicine. The student celebration placed an emphasis on the importance of celebrating how far the nation has come and the importance of continu-
ing the fulfillment of King’s dream. A fresh Tech tradition that was started just last year made a return into this year’s schedule of King events: the campus-wide initiative known as the MLK Day of Service. Organizers provided Tech students the opportunity to serve in teams and engage in service projects with Metro Atlanta community partners instead of relaxing over the long weekend. Over 150 volunteers checked in early at the Student Center Ballroom and worked until that afternoon partaking in projects like sorting coats for a coat drive; refurbishing used bars of soap into sanitized, new bars of soap that would be shipped out to other countries; fingerknitting scarves; and making
By Lauren Brett Contributing Writer
There is no denying the challenges today’s unstable economy provides. Reduced tax receipts and a political climate much more sensitive to spending than in years past have led lawmakers to carefully inspect every aspect of government budgets, including funding allocated for research. While state funding has decreased significantly at Tech in past years, federal funding for research and development has increased by as much as eight percent, allowing for continued work on ongoing projects. In just the past decade, Tech has seen growth in science and technology expenditures of more than 200 percent – increasing from $304 million to $611 million. However, this continued increase is not guaranteed for future years, and as the 2012 elections approach, there is even more uncertainty. “This will be a year of anxious discussions with funding agencies and the legislative branch, stressing potential impacts on research, innovation, and economic development,” said Bill Cheesborough, Director of Research and Academic Finance. Educational communities in Washington in charge of obtaining funds for their respective universities remain cautiously optimistic about the future, however. According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, total federal spending on research and development will shrink in the current fiscal year by about 1.3 percent from last year’s levels, but universities will be largely spared from these cuts. Similarly, Cheesborough is confident that Tech will prosper in the near future. “Regardless of the uncertainty...in times of cuts the places to be are the universities with the best research faculty and the best students — and here we are,” Cheesborough said. To secure future federal money, there is a continued push from Tech’s representatives in Washington, D.C. to diversify funding sources and projects. Director of Federal Relations Robert Knotts and his staff in Washington work to secure federal funding for research from different government agencies and to make faculty in Atlanta aware of different funding opportunities in the forms of grants and competitions, as it is the individual professors who apply for funding, not Knotts and his office in Washington. “Politicians can’t see into the future,” Knotts said. He continued to explain that that is why it is important to bring to light the research that the Institute conducts and important financial aid programs that benefit its students, like the Pell Grant program. “Research and education are what make our future,” Knotts said. Research funding is crucial to Tech because it pays for both the specific research project in question and contributes to overhead operating costs. In Fiscal Year 2011, Tech received 37 percent of its revenue from sponsored research, of which federal funds make up a large part. This amount is double the revenue generated by tuition. Federal funds also assisted when state cuts were at their worst. In Fiscal Year 2010, the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act contributed $12.3 million in funds to offset cuts in state appropriations. Those funds have since run out, however.
Tech celebrates King through service
By Angela Powers Contributing Writer
Federal research funds to grow in uncertain future