Universities lay out legislative priorities

Universities lay out legislative priorities

"Mangum reiterated her request for $20 million in recurring money and $10 million in one-time funds to invest in FAMU faculty at the joint FSU-FAMU College of Engineering. Mangum wants to bring its faculty start-up and salary packages to the level of FSU faculty. Coburn said FSU supports FAMU’s funding request.
“We can’t do it without additional resources,” Mangum said. “That would benefit both schools because it would benefit the college of engineering.”

"Murdaugh restated the need for more nurses in Tallahassee and asked the business community to help relay to the legislature the importance of the program.
“There’s such a demand and FSU and FAMU train a lot of nurses,” he said. “But there’s simply no way that either institution can meet that demand without us helping.”
The Tallahassee Chamber passed a resolution supporting the baccalaureate program.
Coburn said FSU supports new dollars for performance funding, which they benefited from last year, and an increase to preeminence funding that allowed them to hire 45 new positions last year.
FSU also seeks more funding for STEM programs and a STEM teaching facility. The school will also ask the legislature for half the cost of a $95-million Interdisciplinary Research and Commercialization building in Innovation Park and about $38 million to finish the Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science building on the southwest corner of Woodward Avenue and West Tennessee Street."