A cry for help from higher ed

College leaders from this state aren't alone in trying to figure out how to navigate a massive erosion in public funding for their institutions.

On Monday, the presidents, provosts and other top leaders from about 30 colleges in the Western United States met at the University of Washington to discuss their common experiences and to strategize about how to "reset" their finances.

One idea, backed by UW President Mark Emmert, is to ask the federal government to step in and provide more money and support where states are falling short. UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau suggested a model in which each state could have one university funded by the federal government — eliminating the need for out-of-state tuition surcharges at those institutions.

Organized by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the Seattle meeting was one of five taking place across the country this month. University leaders hope to develop a national strategy for securing the future of their institutions.

Common among leaders' complaints is that higher-education is often the first thing to get cut by states that are facing lower revenues and are having to pay more for everything from prisons to health care.

In Washington, the Legislature this year agreed to cut $73 million from the budgets of universities and community colleges — on top of much larger cuts last year. Tuition will go up 14 percent this year at the UW. Last fall, the University of California regents voted to hike tuition by 32 percent as that state slashed education funding.

"We are competing against widows, infants and the rehabilitation of prisoners," said Steve Juarez, the director of state government relations for the UC system.

Juarez added that strident student protests in California against tuition and fee increases have helped lawmakers in that state realize the scale of the problem and become more sympathetic to the plight of universities.

Randy Hodgins, the UW's vice president of external affairs, said he wasn't going to waste time by putting up slides to show how state support had evaporated in recent years.

"We all know we are all getting clobbered," he said.

Among strategies suggested by Hodgins and other leaders: have state lawmakers set aside a fixed percentage of the budget for higher education, emphasize the job-creation record of universities, promote achievements such as green technology, and tell people what they stand to lose.

"We need to tell the story of how research has improved our quality of life," said John Welty, president of California State University, Fresno.

Some university leaders said they could make better use of federal research dollars if they could reduce the administrative and regulatory strings that come with such grants.

Emmert said that continued cuts to the country's public research universities could lead to the downfall of a critical national system, and that all the leaders needed to strategize to avert the looming crisis.

Keynote speaker at Monday's conference was Bill Gates Sr., co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a UW regent.

Gates now has another speech to prepare for — the UW announced Monday that he will be this year's commencement speaker during ceremonies June 12 at Husky Stadium.

Nick Perry: 206-515-5639 or nperry@seattletimes.com