UCLA alumni create coalition to prioritize public higher education funding in state budget negotiations
By Brendan Jackson
Feb. 21, 2012 2:09 a.m.
A group of UCLA alumni recently created a political organization devoted to supporting politicians and initiatives that prioritize higher education funding in state budget negotiations.
The organization, officially called the California Coalition for Public Higher Education, aims to create a network of supporters willing to work with elected officials and bring attention to the importance of public higher education, said Jeffrey Seymour, a UCLA alumnus and chairman of the coalition’s political action committee.
“We have been talking about this for around eight years, but six months ago we revisited the idea and began putting the meat to the bone,” said Seymour, who graduated from UCLA in 1973 with a degree in political science.
The coalition is comprised of alumni from public higher education institutions, former state legislators and business leaders. The coalition is still in the early stages of development, but serves as an umbrella organization for political action and issue advocacy committees.
Those committees are also in the process of being set up, said Howard Welinsky, a UCLA alumnus and chairman of the issue advocacy committee for the coalition. Welinsky graduated from UCLA in 1972, also with a political science degree.
The issue advocacy committee plans to identify candidates, politicians and initiatives that prioritize public higher education funding, Seymour said. The political action committee will serve as financial support, he said.
The organization has already raised $50,000 in its preliminary stages, Seymour said. The main source of funds has been through contributions from business leaders and support groups.
The coalition will meet with fundraising consultants in Sacramento next month to put together a full fundraising plan. The tentative goal is to raise $500,000, Seymour said.
University of California officials are supportive of the organization, though it is not directly affiliated with the university.
The UC is “100 percent supportive” of anyone who rallies in favor of refunding the university, said Dianne Klein, a spokeswoman for the UC.
About $1.4 billion in state funding has been cut from the UC system since 2009.
“The coalition is an outside organization lobbying on behalf of the UC,” Klein said. “But we think it is a great idea.”
Though the founders of the coalition have not set a specific launch date, Welinsky hopes the organization will play an influential role in public higher education funding in Sacramento once it goes public.
“Higher education does not get the attention from term-limited legislators that it deserves, and we’re hoping to change that,” Welinsky said.
The coalition is currently reaching out to business leaders and alumni groups from the UC and the California State University system to kick-start contributions to the agency, Seymour said. Welinsky and Seymour are planning to meet with UCLA groups like Bruin Woods to talk about a possible partnership with the coalition.
Some UCLA students are hoping to get involved with the coalition but also expressed caution. The role of students is still being negotiated by the coalition to ensure they don’t overstep legal boundaries set by the federal government, Seymour said.
Federal campaign financing laws currently prohibit public education institutions and student organizations funded by universities from being directly affiliated with the coalition’s lobbying efforts.
Joelle Gamble, the external vice president of the UCLA Undergraduate Students Association Council, said she is interested in becoming involved but is cautious to represent USAC.
“I personally want to be involved because I am devoted to refunding the UC, but we are still determining the legality of students’ involvement,” Gamble said.
While no member of the UC, CSU or California Community Colleges systems can serve on the board of the coalition, the coalition members are reaching out for information about the needs of the state’s public higher education institutions, Seymour said.
“We are not looking for an affiliation with any higher institution, but for us to be successful we need to have a working communication path with each institution and we have that,” Seymour said. “While (higher education institutions) are not sitting at the table as members of the coalition, they will be there for support and information.”
