Lewis-Clark State College President Tony Fernandez, the second of three outgoing college and university presidents who are making their final budget pitches to lawmakers today, told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee this morning that LCSC is marking its 125^th anniversary this Saturday. “It seems like we started out during a big depression and (with) no appropriations,” he noted, to which JFAC Co-Chair Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, said, “Look how far you’ve come.”

“The school started downtown in Lewiston and has grown and flourished since that time,” Fernandez said. “It is a tenacious school, just like its students; it is a perservering school, just like its students. … That was the nature of our school: Hardworking, tenacious, persevering, and it continues to be so into this century.”

“We have a lot to celebrate,” Fernandez told lawmakers, noting numerous major awards and high rankings the school has recently received. Plus, he said, “We had a record number of graduates last year, the third year in a row.” Despite the ups and downs of the economy, he said, “Our enrollment growth in the last 10 years has been 20 percent.”

High numbers of LCSC’s students are the first generation in their family to attend college, he noted.

LCSC’s baseball team won its third national championship in a row last year, Fernandez reported, and its women’s basketball team was the runner-up for the national championship in the NAIA. “This reflects the quality of our institution; we are very proud of it,” Fernandez said.

He said supports the governor’s recommendation for 3 percent merit raises for state employees next year. “Compensation is an issue at Lewis Clark State College for our faculty and for our staff,” he said. “Our professors, for example, compared to their peers, are only 78 percent – a full $16,000 less than full professors at our peer institutions. And the same could be said for many of our staff.”

In addition, he said, “Our tuition remains the lowest of the public four-year institutions in Idaho, and we intend to keep it that way.”

LCSC requested two budget line items for next year, neither of which were recommended for funding in Gov. Butch Otter’s budget proposal for next year. The school sought $649,200 and eight positions next year for program expansions in social work and humanities and additional advising and counseling; and $177,900 for cybersecurity improvements.

Asked by lawmakers about the first request, Fernandez said he believes is “fully justified,” saying, “The litmus test for just about everything we ask for is: Is this going to help the students? ... These were well thought out, a year ago, and put together.”

The second request, he said, was in response to the governor’s executive order on cybersecurity. “We’re a small school, and we have few personnel” working in that area, he said. “And following the executive order of the governor, we thought this was something we needed to pay attention to.”

Rep. Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, JFAC co-chair, asked Otter’s budget director, Jani Revier, why that item wasn’t funded in the governor’s budget proposal. “Obviously every state institution is responsible for compliance,” Bell said. “Obviously some budgets can eat it. This is one budget that can’t.”

Revier responded that the Otter Adminstration reviewed all requests and funded those it thought were needed to comply with its additional emphasis on cybersecurity. “The governor does believe that cybersecurity is very important,” Revier said. “That’s why he is seeking to create a division of cybersecurity. This item was not recommended, but the institution has been urged to address all these things within their existing funding.”

Fernandez told JFAC, “I’ve been at LCSC since 2003, been president or acting president since 2010. I’ve been at many institutions, in both administration and research and in teaching. And I can tell you that LCSC is a jewel in this state. It is a well-run institution that knows … what kind of an institution it is, and what it can do. It is an efficient institution, and once again, it is a tenacious, perservering and hardworking institution, and it’s been a privilege to serve.”

Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, told Fernandez, “As you said, you’re a small institution, but it has not stopped you from doing very good things.” She said LCSC has “set a good example for other institutions to follow,” and told Fernandez, “Thank you for your service to Idaho and to Lewis-Clark State College.”

Keough said, “I have ... continued to be impressed with Lewis Clark State College. … It really means a lot to the non-traditional students out there to have a home, and LCSC has always been very helpful in welcoming those folks.” She added, “Thank you so much for your service – it’s appreciated.”