By STEPHANIE TRACY
Anderson Independent-Mail
January 26, 2005

COLUMBIA — Clemson University President Jim Barker told a state House subcommittee Wednesday "Clemson would not be Clemson without the PSA," argued his case for restoring $2.75 million in base funding, and asked for more than $52 million to support existing programs and create new ones.

Having weathered a 33.3 percent drop in state funding since 2001, Clemson’s Public Service Activities budget faces another 12 percent cut in Republican Gov. Mark Sanford’s 2005 Executive Budget.

"The PSA is what differentiates Clemson from other universities in the state," Mr. Barker said. "Through public service we take discovery and put it in the hands of those who need it."

Mr. Barker told lawmakers the future of the PSA lies in driving economic development and supporting the growth of the biotechnology industry. In addition to restoring $2.75 million in base funding for the PSA’s chief operations in research, extension and regulation, Clemson’s funding requests for PSA included $1.2 million for a biotechnology research initiative to hire nine biotechnology specialists.

"We’ll be working with the private sector to help move things to the marketplace more quickly," said John Kelly, Clemson’s vice president for public service and agriculture.

A $28 million biotech and bioprocessing facility would also play a key part in developing an agribusiness cluster in South Carolina. Mr. Kelly said research conducted at the facility could lead to genetically programmed foods designed to prevent chronic diseases like high blood pressure or colon cancer.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Barker asked another House panel to end further cuts to base funding for higher education that have forced colleges and universities to make deep internal cuts and raise tuition for students.
"When the state had shortfalls, you didn’t hear us whine, and you won’t," Mr. Barker said.
He pointed to the increasing quality of Clemson’s freshman class, and the record-setting $115 million in research funding granted to the university as evidence of progress in the face of historic cuts in state dollars.

With Clemson’s operating budget facing another 2 percent cut from Gov. Mark Sanford’s 2005 executive budget, Mr. Barker asked the House panel to block those cuts, support a pay raise for all state employees and increase funding for a handful of research centers and outreach programs.

Clemson’s wish list included recurring funding for a handful of programs, including $500,000 to establish the Center for Research in Wireless Communications as a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center and $1 million for photonics research at the Center for Optical Materials Science and Engineering Technologies in Anderson County. The university’s funding request also included $250,000 for a program designed to encourage college attendance among at-risk and minority students and $1.3 million to expand Clemson’s Call Me Mister program to attract more African-American men into South Carolina’s public school classrooms.

Stephanie Tracy can be reached at (800) 859-6397, Ext. 342 or by e-mail at tracysk@IndependentMail.com.

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