Sen. Hinrichsen meets with CSU Pueblo, PCC leaders to discuss challenges facing higher ed

Colorado Sen. Nick Hinrichsen met with representatives from Colorado State University Pueblo and Pueblo Community College to discuss the state higher education at a roundtable event in Pueblo.

CSU Pueblo President Timothy Mottet, PCC President Patty Erjavec, cabinet members and student leaders from both institutions joined Sen. Hinrichsen at CSU Pueblo's Occhiato Student Center Ballroom foyer Monday. Topics of discussion included funding for higher education, workforce development and enrollment challenges.

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Concerning funding, Hinrichsen said the Colorado Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) continues to put limits on the state's ability to fund higher education and that the state will will eventually reach a "critical juncture point" on TABOR.

"The pressures of TABOR have brushed every major area of the state budget— secondary education, higher education, transportation... I don't think we are going to be able to continue down this path without reaching some point where there is a major initiative or ballot proposal that changes the way that state is able to collect revenue."

Mottet expressed concern about a large number of graduates leaving Pueblo after graduation and said there needs to be a more strategic economic development plan to attract new industries to the area.

"I think we are all down with it," Mottet said. "PEDCO does some work. The county does some work. The city does some work. I don't know if there is a strategic plan that we could all get behind, that would look at diversification to newer economies."

Ensuring a college degree's "return on investment" is another challenge higher education institutions face as the sacrifice of attending college goes beyond the cost of tuition for some students, Erjavec said.

"The individuals in our community, if they choose to sacrifice and go to higher ed, even if we give them the tuition, that means that they can't work," Erjavec said. "That means that they are going to need daycare for their children. They may not have transportation. The (return of investment) in many of the professions and pathways that we offer and that's a challenge as we try to grow our institutions."

While the challenges facing higher education are "not insignificant," Hinrichsen said there continues opportunities for Pueblo's higher education institutions to play a pivotal role in serving the economic development needs of Southern Colorado. Opportunities mentioned by Hinrichsen include CSU Pueblo's Southern Colorado Institute of Transportation Technology, which will support academic and government research of surface transportation.

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"(Transportation) is one of those areas that fortunately I think there are some external pressures that are working in our favor... I think we are seeing more people commuting to Colorado Springs," Hinrichsen said. "We're starting to see more people from Colorado Springs commute to Pueblo in a way that hasn't existed in the past. Colorado Springs continues to grow South and we continue to grow north."

Hinrichsen also mentioned agricultural technology, solar, wind and geothermal energy development research as potential avenues for investment.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Sen. Nick Hinrichsen visits Pueblo higher education leaders