Gov. Jay Nixon promised a room full of leaders from public universities and colleges across the state Monday that he would include increased funding for higher education in his next budget.
"My fiscal year 2015 budget will increase funding for public colleges and universities - and increase it substantially," Nixon said.
He declined to put a specific number on the increase, but said he and his administration were watching how the economy was doing and what revenue numbers in the coming months and future projections looked like before developing a specific proposal.
"We want to be aggressive with that funding this year," Nixon said.
"They (the schools) have all over the past few years had to deal with managing their various responsibilities with extremely tight resources."
The governor took the opportunity to thank the audience of higher education officials for supporting his push to sustain his veto of HB 253, a tax-cut bill, which opponents argued would have stripped funding from public schools. But the Democrat warned similar battles likely lay ahead.
He also said that with increased resources would come increased responsibilities, highlighting the need for colleges and universities to keep tuition costs down and to meet specific performance measures developed by each institution.
Nixon also promised changes to financial aid and scholarship programs, with an eye toward keeping the state's best students in Missouri, not just to study but to also work and live after graduating.
MU Provost Brian Foster was pleased to hear the governor's emphasis on the importance of higher education, but he said the conversation at the meeting was a "20,000 feet perspective" and more specifics were still needed.
"His commitment - assuming it all comes true - means we'll see improvement in our fiscal state," Foster said. "We still need to see the details.... It's been a while since we've been able to have a positive view, so it's good news."