Iowa Legislative Session Begins on Monday
The second session of the 88th Iowa General Assembly begins Monday, Jan. 13, 2020, at the State Capitol in Des Moines. We need your help this upcoming legislative session to ensure that a UNI education remains affordable for Iowa students and their families. At UNI, we provide our students real world, hands-on experience enabling them to find a job after graduation and start making an impact from day one.
UNI is asking for an additional $4 million to continue our effort to increase enrollment by keeping tuition and fees affordable and competitive while providing a high-quality education. UNI is committed to student success and upholding our public charge to be open and accessible, and the additional $4 million investment will enable future tuition to stay near or at current levels.
UNI’s Industrial Technology Center (ITC), originally built in 1974, needs critical improvements to the infrastructure and technology we use to prepare Iowa’s future industrial, manufacturing and construction workforce. UNI is asking the Iowa Legislature to invest $39.7 million over the next three years to modernize and expand the ITC to serve the workforce needs of Iowa’s industry and to better prepare teachers to instruct STEM and career and technical education disciplines.
UNI’s Metal Casting Center is requesting $400,000 to support the Additive Manufacturing expansion started last year to further position Iowa as the national leader in metal casting additive manufacturing. This funding will accelerate advancements in new technologies, such as investment casting 3D printing.
Additional legislative budget requests:
• $6.4 million for STEM education
• $1 million for economic development
• $900,000 from the Regents Innovation Fund
• $175,256 for the recycling and reuse center
• $125,302 for real estate education
We are asking you to help us this legislative session. Every voice makes a difference. You can find your local state senator and state representative at this link. Please share your UNI story and ask them to support our funding requests.
We are grateful for your willingness to support UNI’s positive impact on Iowa! Additional information can be found on our Panther Caucus website.
Did You Know?
According to an economic impact analysis report from Emsi, a leading labor market analytics firm, in fiscal year 2017-18, UNI added $1.6 billion in income to the Iowa economy, a value approximately equal to 0.8% of the state’s total gross state product (GSP). Expressed in terms of jobs, UNI’s impact supported 21,979 jobs. For perspective, the activities of UNI and its students support one out of every 94 jobs in Iowa. For every $1 invested in UNI, students gain $4.40 in lifetime earnings, taxpayers gain $3.10 in added tax revenue and public sector savings and society gains $8.40 in added income and social savings.