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Universities tell Ways and Means panel they need stable funding as state trims carryovers
Summary
University leaders told the Higher Education Subcommittee their institutions face enrollment and revenue headwinds, urged lawmakers to preserve need-based aid and campus renewal dollars, and highlighted major capital projects — including ARPA-supported stadium work and biomedical centers — that hinge on continued state support.
Chancellor Douglas Gerard of the University of Kansas told the Higher Education Subcommittee that KU has reduced operating costs aggressively while continuing to deliver statewide services, from law‑enforcement and firefighter training to water‑well monitoring and biomedical outreach. Gerard said the university reappropriated $5.7 million in unspent general funds in FY26, most for capital renewal, and flagged an $85.3 million increase in capital improvements tied to a stadium project supported with ARPA funds.
“Every revenue stream is being challenged,” Gerard said, describing pressures on federal research dollars, student aid flows and enrollment. He told committee members KU has cut programs and personnel since 2017 and is pursuing new revenue channels — online enrollment, corporate partnerships and donor support — to sustain operations.
Dayton Lemunyan, principal fiscal analyst for the Legislative Research Department, walked the committee through the budget tables. For KU Medical Center he highlighted an $85.3 million SGF reappropriation largely for the cancer center and a $6.5 million transfer connected to the Wichita biomedical partnership that will shift to Wichita State University in FY26; he also noted lapses the special budget committee made to some cybersecurity and noncapital reappropriations.
At Wichita State, President Richard Muma said his institution is expanding applied learning and research ties with industry — estimating research expenditures recently topped several hundred million dollars — and asked the committee to keep student‑success funding stable so need‑based aid and local partnerships can continue. Kansas State President Richard Linton emphasized K‑State’s water institute and research growth and identified nuclear workforce development and operational support for the College of Veterinary Medicine as emergent priorities.
Board of Regents leadership framed several cross‑cutting items for lawmakers: Blake Flanders, president and CEO of the Kansas Board of Regents, urged lawmakers to preserve carryover and student‑success funds that act as rapid emergency aid for students and to maintain statutory support for the Kansas Campus Restoration Act, which matches donor funds and has driven demolition and renovation projects across campuses.
The hearing did not record any formal committee votes. Lawmakers asked followups about enrollment strategies, tuition for out‑of‑state recruits, and the relative merits of investing in new facilities versus operational support. The committee adjourned after presenters answered questions and indicated further budget deliberations would follow.
