VCU’s legislative wish list

VCU’s legislative wish list

VCU’s legislative agenda features several priorities besides base adequacy funding, research funding and construction of Medical Sciences Building II and the Mass Cancer Center addition. Other items address:

• Renovation of the Business Building. Outgoing Gov. Mark R. Warner’s budget includes about $19 million for that project.
• Faculty and staff compensation. Warner’s budget includes salary increases of 4 percent for teaching and research faculty, 3 percent for administrative faculty and 3 percent for classified employees.
• Financial aid. The proposed budget would increase financial aid $1.4 million each year for VCU students. Warner’s budget proposal also adds nearly $1 million in graduate financial aid.
• Indigent care. Warner’s budget would cover 100 percent of the cost of health services VCU Health System provides to underinsured and uninsured patients.
• Dental School addition: No funding was included in Warner’s budget proposal for this four-story, 53,600 square-foot building. The building, which will include patient treatment clinical space, lecture halls and research laboratories, will cost an estimated $11.75 million to construct. VCU is requesting $6.2 million in state funding.

Source: VCU Office of Government Relations. More information can be found at http://www.vcu.edu/govrel/ga.shtml.