Southern University leaders discuss funding opportunities with state officials

BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — Dennis Shields, President of the Southern University System, is addressing the need for more funding for the campuses to keep progressing.

Last week, Shields spoke with state leaders about the need for additional funding for their existing budget.

“The uncertainty of what you’re going to get from the state means that you can’t plan and put the things in place that you need to get things done.” He said. “We want recurring dollars to start that build our base, that gives us a better opportunity to assist those students in being successful.”

Shields mentioned how it’s important to address the historic underfunding that affects the systems, compared to other colleges in and out of state.

He said the state is already helping with a few things, with the most recent from Governor Jeff Landry on the groundbreaking of their new STEM building. According to Shields, LSU receives more money from the state, and that goes a long way towards helping their students.

“The difference between us and LSU ranges from as much as $8,000 a student to $2,000 a student. That impacts everything you do,” said Shields.

Shields said their focus is to make sure the students are getting the proper resources to prosper, mentioning the nursing program and the partnerships they have with chemical plants for their engineering students.

He said they have plans to soon break ground on new student housing as well. Their priorities are to get more summer programs, extra academic advisors, and extra grant money for students. Shields said that although Pell Grants and Financial Aid play a huge part in some students’ lives, more grants can continue giving other students an equal opportunity to attend college.

“Many of them are very talented, but they come less prepared. We want to meet our students where they are and help them achieve their aspirations and their potential,” he said.

Shields compared the economic growth of LSU with Southern. He said the way LSU’s campus is set up, it not only benefits the students but the community as a whole, like easy access to grocery stores and food. He wants to address that need as well, especially with the lack of grocery stores and access to healthy food in North Baton Rouge.

Shields said he Southern has been taking the back seat for quite some time in these conversations, and hopes the state continues to listen and provide more opportunities for them to grow.

“Support from the state for those programming, that kind of programming helps not just our students gain valuable experience, but helps the community at large,” he said.

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