Governor: Higher education ‘integral part’ of job creation; USA students head to Montgomery in support of university funding
Posted on February 27, 2014

MONTGOMERY -- Thousands of university students, including a strong delegation from
the University of South Alabama, converged on the statehouse today in support of funding
higher education.
The crowd at a morning rally enthusiastically and repeatedly answered a call for a
return to sending one-third of the Education Trust Fund to Alabama’s colleges and
universities.
Gov. Robert Bentley promised his support, explaining that the mission of higher education
is crucial to his job-growth efforts.
“What we’re trying to do in this state is create more jobs, and higher education is
an integral part of that,” Bentley told the group. “We can’t do it without higher
education. … It is important that we have more people in Alabama with higher education
training.”
The students traveled to Montgomery for Higher Education Day, an annual event organized
by the Higher Education Partnership, as the Legislature works to put together the
2015 budget.
A group of about 225 USA students, faculty and staff made the trip to the state capital,
where they attended the rally and met with legislators, including Speaker of the House
Rep. Mike Hubbard, who joined the University delegation for lunch.
“I do understand the value of higher education,” Hubbard said. “There is no better
investment that we can make in terms of taxpayer dollars than higher education.”
The University of South Alabama has an annual economic impact of about $3 billion,
with nearly 5,500 employees and $57 million in external contracts and grants in fiscal
2013. Student enrollment annually is more than 15,000.
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