'Green' fund details unclear
Oversight, source of money still undecided
McLean Bennett
Issue date: 11/3/08 Section: News
Several details of a new, multi-thousand dollar "green" coffer need to be ironed out, said Student Senate Treasurer, senior Michael Umhoefer, who helped push for legislation last month to implement an account to fund environmental projects on campus.
The new account would cost students about $20 a year, with the money in the account aimed at funding a variety of green initiatives and environmental student-faculty research projects. But Umhoefer said questions about just where the account money will come from and who will oversee it still remain unanswered.
Those questions, he said, will be resolved if and when the account gets approval from the UW- System Board of Regents. Whether the legislation will even get that far remains to be seen; the $200,000-plus piece of legislation still has to get approval from the student body, which will cast its decision on the account in an online referendum Nov. 20.
Umhoefer said the Board may decide to draw funding through either tuition or through student segregated fees, or it may decide to create a new student fee category specifically for the account.
"Whatever they say, we have to follow," Umhoefer said about the Board's decision.
The account will provide funding for projects in a grant-like format, with a committee of students, faculty and university administrators determining which projects to fund.
Umhoefer said Student Senate will have some oversight in that committee, but he said the university also will have some control over it as well. But who will have that university oversight is yet to be determined, he said, adding that the Board must make that decision.
"We're going to see how much academic oversight or administration oversight there's going to be," he said, but added, "No matter what, students will be in control of this fund."
Only one senator voted against the legislation to approve the Nov. 20 referendum. Sen. Jacob Kampen, the lone dissenter in the 27-1-1 decision, said he disapproved of the legislation because he thought it didn't have a clear funding target.
"What we should have done is we should have had specific projects," Kampen said. "I wanted to see specific projects in the bill, not just a general outline."
While he understands concerns about the account's costs for students, Umhoefer believes the account is the best alternative to provide ongoing and consistent funding for environmental initiatives on campus.
He said the state will not fund these types of initiatives, and that having a consistent and stable account is more favorable than relying on grant money to fund environmental projects.
"From the administration level and the state level and the university itself, there's no opportunity for funding like this," he said.
"Personally," he added, "I think this is the better way to go than trying to consistently apply for grants."
The new account would cost students about $20 a year, with the money in the account aimed at funding a variety of green initiatives and environmental student-faculty research projects. But Umhoefer said questions about just where the account money will come from and who will oversee it still remain unanswered.
Those questions, he said, will be resolved if and when the account gets approval from the UW- System Board of Regents. Whether the legislation will even get that far remains to be seen; the $200,000-plus piece of legislation still has to get approval from the student body, which will cast its decision on the account in an online referendum Nov. 20.
Umhoefer said the Board may decide to draw funding through either tuition or through student segregated fees, or it may decide to create a new student fee category specifically for the account.
"Whatever they say, we have to follow," Umhoefer said about the Board's decision.
The account will provide funding for projects in a grant-like format, with a committee of students, faculty and university administrators determining which projects to fund.
Umhoefer said Student Senate will have some oversight in that committee, but he said the university also will have some control over it as well. But who will have that university oversight is yet to be determined, he said, adding that the Board must make that decision.
"We're going to see how much academic oversight or administration oversight there's going to be," he said, but added, "No matter what, students will be in control of this fund."
Only one senator voted against the legislation to approve the Nov. 20 referendum. Sen. Jacob Kampen, the lone dissenter in the 27-1-1 decision, said he disapproved of the legislation because he thought it didn't have a clear funding target.
"What we should have done is we should have had specific projects," Kampen said. "I wanted to see specific projects in the bill, not just a general outline."
While he understands concerns about the account's costs for students, Umhoefer believes the account is the best alternative to provide ongoing and consistent funding for environmental initiatives on campus.
He said the state will not fund these types of initiatives, and that having a consistent and stable account is more favorable than relying on grant money to fund environmental projects.
"From the administration level and the state level and the university itself, there's no opportunity for funding like this," he said.
"Personally," he added, "I think this is the better way to go than trying to consistently apply for grants."
Be the first to comment on this story