With the demand continually increasing for employees who have certificates and degrees, college completion remains the top priority in the state of Oklahoma.
That was the message delivered by Chancellor Glen D. Johnson as he presented the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education’s FY 2015 legislative agenda to an audience of lawmakers, community leaders and educators at Rose State College’s campus in Midwest City. The chancellor’s comments on Dec. 16 were part of his annual legislative tour.
The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education recently voted to request $76.3 million in new state appropriations during the upcoming legislative session. The total budget request for FY 2015 is 7.7 percent higher than the current year’s appropriation.
"Oklahoma’s system of higher education is the state’s road to jobs and prosperity," said Chancellor Glen D. Johnson. "No entity in state government can help Oklahoma reach its goals of educational excellence and workforce development faster or more comprehensively than public higher education. Our budget request would support our institutions’ ongoing commitment to produce more college graduates, which increases our state’s per capita income and strengthens our state’s economy."
Also at the luncheon, Del City representative Scott Inman was given the 2013 Distinguished Service Award for Higher Education for his work on behalf of Oklahoma’s entire higher education system. Chancellor Johnson said Inman’s legislative efforts regarding Oklahoma’s Promise scholarships resulted in more students being able to get college degrees.
"We know the program has been successful. Without Oklahoma’s Promise, there would have been many students who might not have been able to go to college," Johnson said.
Inman said access to college is important for the economy of the state and for individual achievement. He thanked Chancellor Johnson and Rose State College, where he said he attended before attending the University of Oklahoma.
"It is humbling to receive such a prestigious honor from the regents of higher education," Inman said. "I am proud to stand with the members of my caucus in the Oklahoma House, fighting to protect and support higher education, its students and its mission of producing the business and community leaders of tomorrow."
