Higher education will have to make a strong case for funding from the 2003 Kansas Legislature.

ÂThose higher ed boys need to be concerned.Â-

That was the down-home assessment Rep. Kenny Wilk offered in SundayÂ’s Journal-World of how state legislators and the new governor will approach spending priorities in the 2003 legislative session. As the current chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and a possible contender to replace Rep. Kent Glasscock in the speakerÂ’s chair, Wilk is in a pretty strong position both to evaluate and to influence the situation, so his words deserve some special attention.

Wilk, a Republican from Lansing, said it would be politically unpopular to cut funding for public schools, social services or public safety, but cuts to higher education may be more acceptable. Both governorÂ’s candidates, Republican Tim Shallenburger and Democrat Kathleen Sebelius, say they donÂ’t want to cut higher education funding, but Wilk says that whichever candidate is elected in November will have second thoughts when faced with the realities of the stateÂ’s revenue shortfalls.

The message that higher education officials should get from WilksÂ’ prediction is that they must be prepared to make a powerful case for funding to the 2003 Legislature. That case must focus not only on the services that higher education can provide to students, but also the important role higher education plays in the stateÂ’s future.

Providing the best possible postsecondary education for Kansas students is an important role for higher education in the state. But even more important are the ways in which state universities fuel the stateÂ’s economy. When legislators look at university budgets, they want to see a return on investment for the state.

That return comes not only in the way universities prepare the stateÂ’s future workforce, but in the way they link university research to specific business ventures in the state. Providing top educational opportunities is important, but legislators may be less than enthusiastic about helping to fund that education for students who simply will graduate and go elsewhere to work. Universities must make the connection to business ventures that will provide jobs for those graduates as well as fueling the stateÂ’s economy.

Adequate funding for public schools and social services is a basic duty that the state must maintain, but if the state hopes to improve its economic situation, it needs to do more than maintain services. It needs to look to the future at the types of initiatives that will support and enhance the stateÂ’s economic engine. ThatÂ’s where university research and expertise can help.

Wilk is right. Universities do need to be concerned. They, like every other entity that receives state funding, will have to make a strong case to state legislators next year. They need to make legislators understand that maintaining the status quo isnÂ’t good enough if Kansas hopes to come out of the current economic slump on the top of the heap. You have to invest in the future, and that means investing in higher education.