Archive → May 4th, 2008
May Is My Favorite Month
This week was the beginning of May and it started out like many of the Mays we have had in the past. We had a storm sneak up on us out of no where that had some huge hail and a tornado. I took this picture of a wall cloud in Midwest City between Midwest Blvd, and Douglas Blvd on the North end of the runway at Tinker Air Force Base. This was very exciting to me though I was not watching television before had so it caught me off guard. With my busy life these days I do not have a lot of discretionary time like I use to. I was not home when the storm hit so I did not have my camera so I missed the hail when it was large. You can click here and see a picture taken by John, K5CHF of the hail.
I did manage to get a few dents in my car but I am not too worried about it. If getting a dent here and there will get me closer to the storm, then it is a small price to pay. Do not get me wrong, I do not like for anyone to get hurt, or have their property damaged but I do love to watch thunderstorms. I have been fascinated since the first time I can remember going to the cellar when I was about seven years old. It was so exciting to me that I have always loved to watch them. Some people like to jump out of airplanes, while I like to watch storms. I barely got this picture because I could not catch up to it. Since I was not home and did not have my camera, I was late getting started. Add to this, I got stuck at red lights and the traffic was heavy. I gave up when I found this open field and had to zoom up all the way to get this. With all the red lights, I was losing ground on it and knew that I would be to Chandler before catching up to it. With $3.50 per gallon of gas, it was not that important to me.
This weekend, was the last week of the Spring semester so I have a month off with no school and I am very happy. Man I will be soooo glad when this is done. I feel like a million pounds have been lifted off my shoulders. I will be glad when I have more time to go out and take some pictures because I miss doing that. This week I spent the whole week at a conference in western Oklahoma City. The Air Force requires us to have these process improvement working groups (PIWG) for the KC-135 four times a year. This week I learned a lot about the issues going on in the field. We were at the Meridian Convention Center at the Clarion Hotel at I-40 and Meridian. I guess that just about covers this week.
Academic System is Corrupt
Many of you may remember it was June 27, 2007 that I posted a letter of frustration about tuition going up nearly ten percent in one semester at the University of Oklahoma. Tuition goes up every semester and a ten percent jump is outrageous. Well they did it again. Here is the email that I got from our OU president David Boren telling us the tuition is going up nearly ten percent again this coming semester. This means a twenty percent increase in less than one year. I already have to borrow the money and take ten years to pay it off. I for one am really tired of the Oklahoma education system being so corrupt.
It seems as though every election time there is an initiative to raise taxes for our schools. They always do it in a way that never specifies where the money goes but just puts it into “education”. We even created a state lottery that is supposed to go to “education”. That is “Oklahoma” for OU, and OSU. If you ever go to either of these campus you will see how they waste money. They have 42 inch plasma screen televisions on the walls to tell you what classes are going on. Oklahoma University is second in the nation for sales related to their sports program. This college makes millions of dollars every year for their football program. They pay their football coach more than the governer of the state many times over.
If there are budget problems at the University of Oklahoma, I can tell you right now it is because of mismanagement. Oklahoma spends 70 percent on education and then tells us they have the lowest paid teachers in the nation. Then they say it is because we are a low income state. I reject that answer out of hand because we are not a poor state. Yes we have some low income families but so does every state. I will tell you now, if you are a legislator of some kind you may need to come up with a better excuse next time when you want to raise taxes. Do not come to me with a sob story about how our kids are suffering and we need to raise taxes for them. If you say “do it for the kids”, then I am voting NO! It is no surprise that year round one of our public officials are under investigation, or indicted for some crime. I do not trust any of them whether they be Republican or Democrat. The OU president David Boren is a typical former Democratic governer/senator in that he likes to raise taxes over and over again with no return on our investment. I say stop this insanity of raising our tuition 10% twice in one year when we already have to borrow the money. I have zero respect of the leadership of the University of Oklahoma. They get half our budget, then rob us with outrageous tuition, and then beg for more. Am I the only one that feels this way?
________________________________________
From: davidboren@ou.edu [davidboren@ou.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 4:14 PM
To: donotreply@ou.edu
Subject: Letter from President Boren
TO: OU Family
I am writing to share with you the university’s budget situation for the upcoming academic year which begins this fall. I especially want to thank all of those who attended the open forum with me in Beaird Lounge to discuss our budget.
All of us have been working hard to educate the legislature about the need for adequate funding for the university and about the financial burdens already being carried by our students and their families.
Many students participated in Higher Education Day at the state capital, and faculty and staff members have also contacted legislators and the Governor’s Office. Thank all of you for your help.
The final amount including the allocation to OU from the State Regents for Higher Education will not be determined until late in the month. Our own university budget cannot be completed until we receive that information.
The outlook, however, is not optimistic. The legislature has about $350 million less in revenues to appropriate than was available last year. It appears that there is a strong possibility that no new funds will be appropriated to higher education even though our costs at OU have gone up for the Norman campus alone by more than $23 million this year, including increases in health care and retirement costs, utility and energy costs, building maintenance and several other areas. This amount would only include a 2% cost of living adjustment for faculty and staff, which is clearly inadequate compensation for their outstanding performance.
We will do our very best to hold increases in tuition and fees to the lowest possible level while maintaining our high academic standards. Hopefully, we can hold the increases within single digits.
Even though our academic performance continues to go up and is being more widely recognized with each passing year, we are still far below the national average in total tuition and fees and are near the bottom of the Big 12 in these costs for students.
UNDERGRADUATE TUITION AND MANDATORY FEES
BIG 12 UNIVERSITIES
2007-2008 ACADEMIC YEAR
RESIDENT
Missouri – $8,098
Texas – $7,670*
Texas A&M – $7,335
Texas Tech – $6,783
Colorado – $6,635
Kansas – $6,600
Kansas State – $6,235
Nebraska – $6,216
Iowa State – $6,161
OKLAHOMA – $5,607
Oklahoma State – $5,491
NONRESIDENT
Colorado – $24,797
Texas – $24,544
Missouri – $18,754
Iowa State – $16,919
Nebraska – $16,236
Kansas – $16,107
Kansas State – $15,970
Texas A&M – $15,675
Texas Tech – $15,123
Oklahoma State – $14,916
OKLAHOMA – $14,721
* Based on a flat rate tuition for all undergraduates that varies by college.
- This fails to mention that our flat rate tuition is only half of what we are charged
Still I constantly think about how hard it is for many students to find the funds to complete a university education. That is why the university’s top goal in private fundraising efforts is raising funds for scholarships. I’m happy to report that we have far surpassed the $50 million goal of our five-year scholarship drive. With one year still to go, we have reached the $125 million mark because of the generosity of alumni and friends of the university. This means that more than 4,000 additional students will receive privately funded scholarships this year than was true only four years ago. We will continue our campaign for scholarships to help you with a full understanding of the urgency of this effort. Last year scholarship funds available for students with financial needs went up slightly more than tuition and fees. Our goal is to make OU more affordable.
Since the budgetary outlook is not positive, I would again urge all students with financial need to act now to apply for scholarships for next year for which they may qualify.
The new Sooner Heritage Scholarships are especially designed to help middle-income families and not just lower-income families. Students receiving OHLAP or other financial assistance may also apply for them. If you have any doubt about whether you qualify, please contact the Financial Aid Services office at Buchanan Hall, Room 214, or by telephone at 325-4521. Application for Sooner Heritage Scholarships can be completed on line at http://www.financialaid.ou.edu/, then click on Sooner Heritage. The deadline for applications is July 10.
After the legislature completes its budget and the State Regents have allocated a final amount to OU, I will report to you again before I submit my final budget recommendations to our Board of Regents in late June.
In the meantime we will continue to work to increase financial support from the state and to identify internal cost savings.
Because of your strong commitment to excellence and high standards, we will continue our progress as one of the nation’s leading public universities.
Sincerely,
David L. Boren
President
As provided by University policy, the Office of the President has approved the application for distribution submitted with this E-mail under the mass E-mail policy. The approval is to the form of the application only, not to the content or viewpoint of the message. Approval of the form of this E-mail for distribution under the mass E-mail policy does not imply any position of the University.