The University of Missouri School of Medicine would be able to expand if voters approve a tobacco tax increase this fall. Asked at a UM Board of Curators meeting today how MU would spend revenue if the tax passes, Chancellor Brady Deaton said $30 million could be invested in new medical facilities and another $10 million in operational costs.
That would allow enrollment of new classes to increase from 96 to 128 students. MU partners with CoxHealth and Mercy health systems in Springfield, where students get clinical experience, and those partnerships could grow with more funding, Deaton said. "It's an exciting opportunity," he said. "With this kind of infusion of funds, we would be able to move forward in that critical area, making a big difference in the health and well-being of the people in this state."
Voters in November will be asked to increase state taxes per pack of cigarettes from 17 cents to 90 cents. Half of the proceeds would benefit K-12 schools, 20 percent would go toward smoking cessation and education efforts, and 30 percent would be used for higher education. Of higher education's portion, part must be spent on medical training. The increase would bring another $40 million to $50 million in state resources to the system, UM System President Tim Wolfe said. Curator Wayne Goode, though, urged university administrators to tread carefully when drafting their tobacco tax wish lists.
Historically, he said, state lawmakers have used new revenue streams to justify cuts in normal state allocations. There is a provision in the ballot language to try to prevent that, but Goode said the university should wait to see how legislators respond. He also suggested campuses use some of the potential revenue to keep tuition down in the coming years — an idea not quickly embraced by administrators or other curators.
"I don't see any smiles on anybody's face, but this is a need, too, for our students," Goode said. Chancellors have said they would dedicate some of the potential new dollars to scholarships, UM-St. Louis Chancellor Tom George said. But that's not the same as keeping rates down, Goode countered. "Doing it that way is a shift in costs to those families that can barely afford it," he said. Curators spent yesterday and today at MU's Memorial Union. Wolfe used his regular remarks today to update the board on his strategic priorities, including an effort to boost communication. Later this month, Wolfe plans to hold his first "Twitter Town Hall."
He's asking those who use the social media website to send him questions he will answer in a video message. The forum will provide another opportunity for people to get to know Wolfe, seven months into the job, as well as the university, he said. "It's a social media technology that allows you to get out immediate information to a demographic that's more comfortable communicating that way," he said. "It's amazing to see how many people are following you and how the content you distribute brings back other content in a give-and-take scenario."
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