UNH president forecasts tough times

University of New Hampshire President Mark Huddleston had an ominous forecast for the school’s budget in a recent letter to the college community. As the 2009 spring semester gets underway, the university faces daunting challenges created by the national economic crisis.

“While it is common for UNH to deal with financial challenges, this year will be more difficult than most,” Huddleston wrote. “The reason is that in the teeth of the current economic gale each of our key revenue streams is being unusually buffeted.”

Huddleston, who became the university’s 19th president last year, outlined a number of challenges to the school’s revenue streams. With New Hampshire facing a budget deficit of at least $500 million, he wrote, UNH is unlikely to receive increased appropriations in the next biennium. State funding will likely remain level even as costs escalate.

Undergraduate net tuition is also a concern, as financially stressed families seek more aid. The school’s tuition prices must remain competitive as record numbers of college-bound students flood the market, Huddleston wrote.

Furthermore, extramural funding for research has declined, as well as income from the UNH endowment. In fact, Huddleston wrote, the overall value of the endowment has declined 25 percent, which means less available money for UNH operations.
“Even if markets begin to recover later this year, endowment income will remain depressed for the foreseeable future,” he wrote.

In order to overcome these financial challenges, the university must limit salary increases while seeking new and expanded revenue sources. Key goals for the campus community include increasing enrollment in graduate and professional programs, expanding summer and other off-calendar programs, and restricting new hires except in the most critical areas.

Huddleston also noted that the university is positioning itself for federal economic stimulus funds in coming months. He ended his letter on a hopeful note.

“I am confident, however, that we will surmount our challenges, and, indeed, emerge even stronger for having encountered them,” he wrote.

pot bill hits the House

Advocates of medicinal marijuana are touting a bill that would protect seriously ill patients from arrest for possessing the drug in New Hampshire. House Bill 648, sponsored by Rep. Evalyn Merrick (D-Lancaster), would permit the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes if prescribed by a physician.

The N.H. Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy supports the bill. The organization has launched a Web site at www.nhcompassion.org with information about medicinal marijuana legislation.

“HB 648 simply acknowledges the obvious fact that some seriously ill New Hampshire patients benefit from their medicinal use of marijuana,” said Matt Simon, the organization’s executive director, in a press release. “There is no moral justification for continuing a policy that criminalizes patients for trying to relieve their suffering.”

According to the text of the bill, modern medical research has discovered that marijuana is beneficial for alleviating pain, nausea and other symptoms associated with a variety of debilitating medical conditions. If passed, the bill would apply to patients suffering from cancer, glaucoma, AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease, hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and other illnesses.

A similar bill was narrowly defeated 186-177 in the N.H. House in 2007. HB 648 is co-sponsored by six state legislators, including state Sen. Martha Fuller Clark (D-Portsmouth) and Rep. Trinka Russell (D-Stratham). Medicinal marijuana is currently legal in 13 states, including Maine and Vermont.

In a survey conducted by Mason-Dixon Research last April, 71 percent of those polled said they support the legalization of medicinal marijuana, while 21 percent said they oppose it. The remaining 8 percent were undecided. The results of the poll are available on the Web site.

The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs. A hearing date has not yet been scheduled.