As the former representative for the 54th Assembly district, which includes the main campus of UConn, I was proud to help build UConn into the university it is today. In the 1990s, we invested substantially as a state to bring UConn up to a world class standard. And it wasn’t just UConn; we also dramatically upgraded the Connecticut State University system and the community colleges.
To continue this tradition of supporting public higher education, I heartily endorse the candidacy of both Gregg Haddad (54th District) and Ann Bonney (53rd district) for State Representative. We need people who understand that their districts rely on UConn and other higher education institutions in this part of the state, and who will fight for the funding necessary to keep them strong.
Our historic investments have netted great results for our state. Today, higher education is a significant economic engine and community hub, driving both local and statewide growth. The total economic impact of the Storrs campus is $4 billion and grows to $7.8 billion when other campuses are included.
I was therefore disheartened to learn that State Representative Tammy Nuccio, who represents the district surrounding UConn, has made multiple inflammatory claims regarding the state’s investment in Connecticut’s public institutions of higher education on the floor of the State Assembly. She has a dangerously shortsighted view of the role of public higher education. She endorsed a budget plan that would have withheld as much as $200 million in support from public colleges and university students, and she didn’t stop there. She then went on the offensive and attacked the very concept of state support for public higher education! This view would be a catastrophic change to more than 100 years of constitutionally required state support for public higher education in Connecticut. Contrast her views with the efforts of State Representative Haddad, who represents the 54th district (Mansfield and UConn), and who has been a leader in the fight for support for higher education. Contrast them with Bonney’s, the Democratic candidate opposing Nuccio in the 53rd district (Willington, Tolland and Vernon), where funding for UConn is particularly crucial. In addition to thousands of students, UConn employs over 6,500 residents in Tolland County alone. Bonney recognizes the role of higher education both as an economic driver for her district and an indispensable pillar of our state’s future. She has pledged to fight for the necessary funding to keep UConn strong.
I hope you will support both these wonderful candidates for the State Legislature. We need every voice to keep our state a place where students can get a high-quality educational experience at our public institutions. Higher education is not a luxury. It is a fundamental necessity to prepare our citizens for the 21st century.