Legislative update: a briefing for faculty and staff of the University System of Georgia, No. 10 (Mar. 11, 2002)

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
A Briefing for Faculty & Staff of the University System of Georgia No. 10, March 11, 2002

Rahn Requests House's Support for MCG Budget Reductions Will Cause Setbacks in Post-Restructuring Progress, He Warns

In an appearance before the House Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee on March 4, Medical College of Georgia President Daniel W. Rahn made a strong case for funding for MCG in the FY '03 Budget.
"Gov. Roy E. Barnes has recognized MCG's unique needs and rec-

ommended that $3.2 million be added back into MCG's budget. MCG will still experience an overall budget reduction of approximately $3.5 million even with this partial restoration," Rahn told the subcommittee. "These funds are essential to enable us to continue rebuilding academic programs and to restore the

faculty strength to a level that will enable us to assure stability in our educational programs.
Rahn explained that the recent restructuring of the relationship between MCG and the MCG Hospitals and Clinics -- undertaken to correct loss of revenue -- has resulted in a dramatic financial

NEWS BRIEFS FROM THE HILL

General Assembly in Recess This Week
The state legislature is in recess this week to allow House and Senate budget writers time to work on finalizing the two pending budgets.
The budget writers adjourned Friday, March 8, without resolving their differences over the FY '02 Amended Budget, leaving the fate of such matters as a $750,000 appropriation to support a leadership program for North Georgia College and State University undecided. The Board of Regents had requested funding for this mission-related initiative in the FY '03 Budget, but the House added it to the amended budget instead. The Senate recommended holding this item until FY `03.
McBee Wins Governor's Award in Humanities
State Rep. Louise McBee (D-Athens), a former University of Georgia administrator who is a member of the House Higher Education Committee, was recognized last week for her efforts to promote the humanities.
McBee was among 11 Georgians who received 2002 Governor's Awards in the Humanities from Gov. Roy E. Barnes and the Georgia Humanities Council during a luncheon. in Atlanta. on March 6.

turnaround, but also a sharp reduction in the university's faculty and staff through an earlyretirement program.
"Total faculty strength is approximately 70 less than it was two years ago," Rahn said. "Compared to our peers, the MCG School of Medicine has fewer full-time faculty -- 174 less than the mean of our peer group -- and more medical students -- 50 more than the mean." The university currently has 120 faculty vacancies and the highest student/faculty ratio in its peer group, he noted.
Personnel expenses represent 80 percent of the institution's budget, Rahn added, and support services have been streamlined to the extent that they cannot be further reduced, so budget reductions primarily will affect faculty strength.

The legislator, a former professor and vice president for academic affairs at UGA, was honored for having nurtured the development of humanities programs throughout her tenure at the university. Among other things, McBee is credited with the development of the Women's Studies program and with having taken the lead in creating and finding funding for UGA's Center for the Humanities and Arts.

Despite high teaching loads, MCG faculty manage to be very
See "MCG Budget," Page 2 ...

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE -- March 11, 2002, Issue No. 10

MCG Budget
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productive, Rahn said. The number of research-grant dollars per basic-science faculty member are higher than the mean of the university's peers -- approximately $15,000-$20,000 more, in fact, according to the standards used to weigh research productivity.
"MCG's mission is unique," Rahn emphasized. "We are Georgia's only public heath sciences university, and we serve statewide educational, patient care and research missions. Approximately one

quarter of the currently practicing physicians and dentists in Georgia are graduates of MCG. The quality of health care available to Georgia's citizens and the future of health care in Georgia are in many ways dependent upon the quality of our programs."
"The institution is advancing rapidly, but this progress is tenuous and highly dependent on faculty recruitment and retention," Rahn said. "Lost momentum now would definitely set us back years."
In addition to encouraging support for the $3.2 million, Rahn also asked the House

subcommittee members to consider restoring funds for the university's nursing anesthesia program. A recommendation to delete from the Special Funding Initiatives the $827,500 that supported this program would eliminate its entire budget, he stressed.
"U.S. News & World Report has ranked MCG as having the sixth best nursing anesthesia program in the nation since 1998," Rahn said. "Eighty percent of the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthesiologists (CRNAs) who have graduated from

the program have remained in Georgia, where there is a shortage of these nurses that is getting worse. The shortage is worst in rural areas of the state where CRNAs are the predominant anesthesia providers.
"It would be a real shame to lose this valuable program, but we have no funds to shift around to support it if it is not funded in the budget," Rahn concluded.

The Legislative Update will not be published next Monday, March 18, as the General Assembly will be in recess until then. We will resume publication on March 25.

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