Arizona Summer Wildcat

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ARIZONA SUMMER

Comic-Con: From Boba Fett to The Venture Bros.

page 6 AUGUST 4-8, 2010 dailywildcat.com

Where do we go from here? Difficult financial times ahead for UA By Will Ferguson ARIZONA SUMMER WILDCAT With the fall 2010 semester just around the corner, a steep budgetary cliff is quickly coming into view for the Arizona university system, leaving much to discuss at the Aug. 5 and 6 Arizona Board of Regents meeting. In 2010, Arizona’s three universities received $225.9 million in State Fiscal Stabilization funds, commonly known as stimulus dollars, to help balance their respective budgets. In 2011, that amount is expected to drop to zero. However, despite the lack of federal stimulus dollars, the fiscal year 2011 All Funds Operating Budget will increase from $4.6 billion in 2010 to $4.8 billion in 2011 — an overall increase of 4.6 percent. Most of the increase will come from increased student tuition and fees. According to the

regents meeting agenda, total tuition and fee revenues are estimated to be $1.3 billion, an increase of approximately $143 million over the 2010 budget. “Financial aid is primarily, almost exclusively funded through university funds and it has been a longtime commitment that a particular amount was going to be earmarked for financial aid,” said Johnny Cruz, assistant vice president for communications at the UA. Mirroring the substantial increase in university tuition, the amount of money available for financial aid will be approximately $329.9 million, or 26 percent of regular tuition and fee revenues, an increase of $42.6 million or 14.8 percent over fiscal year 2010. “The intent of the regents when we set tuition last year was to allow the universities, given the situation with the state, to provide ongoing services throughout the system at a comparable level,” said Regent Rick Myers. “So the thought process in setting the tuition is that a significant proportion of that is for financial aid.” In addition to increased funding for financial aid, the university system is expecting a slight increase in revenue received from gifts, grants and contracts for the system as a whole — $1.2 billion for 2011, an increase of $36.3 million from 2010.

Illustration by Derek Hugen

FINANCE, page 2

Reducing UMC, UPH integration far from over the harm of electronic waste By Jazmine Woodberry ARIZONA SUMMER WILDCAT

By Julia Etters ARIZONA SUMMER WILDCAT

Electronic waste is a problem that often goes unacknowledged by both communities and the government, according to UA alumna and U.S. trial attorney Maya Abela and anthropology graduate student Jacob Campbell’s recent research. “One of the things we certainly want to avoid is continuing to have systems in place that allow for there to be unregulated transfers of electronic waste around the globe based entirely on market inequality,”Campbell said. Several common electronics used by U.S. consumers get sent to poor countries with lax standards after they’re thrown away, and not only do the effects harm the environment, but the toxic materials can harm workers as well, according to Campbell. “It takes a lot of work to break down a cell phone, TV or computer and get out the copper wire, get out the elements of the circuit board that are useful and can be recycled. Unless it’s done properly, it’s toxic and not good for you,”Campbell said. He said materials are often shipped to China, other East Asian countries and Nigeria, where they are dismantled and picked apart for anything valuable. In several instances, many parts get burned and there is little supervision. Abela and Campbell’s paper,“E-Wasted Time: The Hazardous Lag in Comprehensive Regulation of the Electronics Recycling Industry in the United States,” available on the UA’s Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy website, calls for a different approach to electronic waste, changing the idea that we can just get rid of something once we’re done with it. “That mentality is going to eventually backfire on us when the sheer numbers and volumes of stuff ELECTRONICS, page 2

UA Healthcare, the company formed from the combination of the University Medical Center and University Physicians Hospital, officially opened on July 1 — but the change that is occurring with the integration is far from over. Kevin Burns, the new CEO of the $1.2 billion enterprise UA Healthcare, said the merger will result in increased efficiency. “I do believe ultimately the merger of the two organizations will result in us being able to provide care more efficiently but more importantly, I think more effectively,”Burns said. Former Arizona Board of Regents President Ernest Calderón said in a press

release that the combination will provide much-needed resources to train new physicians, nurses and pharmacists. “Arizona is in a crisis, sorely lacking in the number of physicians, nurses and pharmacists needed; this integration will help address this issue as it strengthens support to the UA College of Medicine,” Calderón said. Burns added that the combination will help to strengthen fiscal stability. “We have a very high focus on quality,” he said. “We use high quality to produce good results and we’ll continue to do that.” In a town hall meeting shortly after the integration, staff members expressed concerns about staffing changes, the education of students and the ever-shrinking Arizona state budget.

Public hospitals are known to be less efficient than those in the private sector, up to 40 percent less, according to a University of Florida study, and the size of UA Healthcare had some employees worried. However, reservations were quickly quelled, Burns said, considering that the companies already had so much in common. In an Arizona Health Sciences Center news release, UA President Robert Shelton called the move “tremendous news,” noting a need to “appreciate the dedication and extraordinary effort that went into this process. … Our healthcare future looks much brighter after this major accomplishment.” The integration will not reduce staffing for UMC, page 3

Gordon Bates/Arizona Summer Wildcat

The University Medical Center and the University Physicians Hospital officially combined on July 1, but much more work lies ahead for the merger. UA Healthcare CEO Kevin Burns hopes the integration will lead to the improvement of his staff’s training and research.


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