LSU President Willian F. Tate talks about the massive differences in funding for Baton Rouge and other branches in the system, specifically the campus in Shreveport.

Shreveport State Rep Brings Up the Funding Gap Again

Last week, on the floor of the state legislature, Rep. Thomas Pressly of Shreveport once again publicly noted the billion dollars plus that goes annually to LSU's Baton Rouge main campus, while university branches in Shreveport, Alexandria and Eunice divide around $29 million every year.

"What I say is, how did that discrepancy happen?" the Tate begins, seeming to justify Baton Rouge's eight-figure budget. "The way the state funds most of the money that comes to us is through enrollment. You have two metrics that drive the funding. How many students do you have and do you bring in research dollars? What you have is a campus that has 35,000 people versus one with a few thousand not getting anywhere the same amount. One thing we have to deal with is the reality of scale."

But the President continues, offering ways to increase funding for the north Louisiana schools. "I do think there are some distinct possibilities to build programs for Shreveport. What I said to the legislative group there is let's sit down and design some things that we think are appropriate, for example the biomedical corridor would be an outstanding opportunity."

LSU BR: $37,000 Per Student; LSUS $1,800 Per Student

When questioned about the differences in the per-student funding between Baton Rouge and Shreveport, Tate questions the validity of the numbers. "I don't know where you're getting your numbers from, but there's so much money that's not actually counted...it's tens of millions of dollars per year. We have to...look at where we're getting the source for some of this data."

Here is everything President Tate told KEEL, including what is being done to increase funding to other LSU branches and when that funding might be realized.

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