State budget cuts remained a primary focus for the University Senate at its meeting yesterday.

University President Karen A. Holbrook addressed both issues in her remarks. She noted the university faces tremendous budget cuts from the state, as well as a possible tuition cap.

“Since the year 2001 until now, higher education has fared rather dismally in our state appropriations,” Holbrook said. “This is a pretty sad state of affairs.”

She presented grim figures, pointing out that the version of the budget from the Ohio House of Representatives allows less money than Gov. Bob Taft proposed.

For 2004, Taft included $313 million in funding. The House approved only $292 million. For 2005, Governor Taft allotted $323 million, but the House bill includes only $291 million.

However, Holbrook pointed out these final numbers are a vast improvement over the original House proposal. She credited the university and community for speaking out against the cuts.

“It is a tense time for the budget,” Holbrook said.

Other senate members share Holbrook’s concerns over the initial House bill.

“We dodged a bullet. If that House version of the bill had passed, it would have been catastrophic,” said Richard Gunther, chairman of the Fiscal Committee and professor of political science.

Gunther organized a higher education rally last month and was credited during the meeting as being key to regaining some of the funding.

Gunther said the fight is not over. He encouraged all members of the university community to continue to write to their legislators and emphasize the importance of funding for higher education.

The budget is being reviewed by the Ohio Senate, where administrators are more optimistic about results.

Holbrook then addressed the issue of the executive dean, a proposed position that would oversee other administrators. Faculty members have resisted the plan so far, suggesting the role of the executive dean is not clear enough to warrant a restructuring of the colleges.

Holbrook called for open minds and unity among the senate in support of the issue.

“This is the right thing to do for this university at this time,” she said.

The Senate also welcomed a guest speaker: James F. Patterson, former chairman of the Board of Trustees.

Patterson’s speech, entitled “The Land Grant University in the 21st Century,” focused on the continuing role of the university in the state, national and global community.

“Given that today’s economy is more dependent than ever upon knowledge and discovery, the universities are even more important today than at any time in our past,” he said.

Patterson concluded by encouraging university administrators and state officials to remain true to the ideals that originally formed land-grant universities like Ohio State.

The senate met yesterday for the first time this quarter, after a lack of new business caused administrators to cancel April’s meeting.