You may remember that I first ran for State Senate in 2020. Then, I was running against incumbent Sen. Scott Wilk. It was a difficult campaign, especially since the pandemic started in the middle of it and we had to campaign without the opportunity to have face-to-face conversations with folks in the months before Election Day.
However, before things shut down, I spent a lot of time in the community, talking with folks about their biggest challenges and what they were hoping for from their elected leaders in Sacramento.
Several things stuck out to me in these conversations, but they all confirmed what I had heard others in Sacramento say about our community: We were the Forgotten District, always last in line for resources. Hearing this made me even more committed to serving our community in the state Senate, and is the reason I am running again this year.
However, there was one thing I heard from so many that it really stuck out to me: “Why are we one of the only regions in the state without a four-year public university?”
They were right. No one should have to drive more than an hour to attend a four-year university.
Not having one in our community limits access, limits opportunity, and limits people’s ability to secure a successful future.
Not to say that attending a university is the only path for success. But if that’s the path people want to pursue, it shouldn’t be as difficult as it has been.
That’s why, when I announced my campaign for state Senate this election cycle, my first campaign promise became making it my top priority to bring billions to our local economy by way of a University of California or California State University campus. Doing so would break down barriers while incentivizing our youth to learn and build locally.
Fortunately, the community’s desire for a four-year public university, and our public campaign promise to make that a reality, has now become bipartisan.
This legislative cycle, Sen. Scott Wilk — who is now serving his final term in office — is carrying a bill to pursue the idea of bringing a four-year public university to our region.
Wilk’s bill (Senate Bill 1023) would authorize the CSU chancellor to conduct and submit to the board of trustees a study about the feasibility of an independent CSU campus in the High Desert.
As Wilk said, “The High Desert is an oasis of affordability and growth in California, but there is still so much more potential worth tapping into. Creating easier access to higher education would significantly cut down students’ commute times, alleviate overcrowding at current CSUs, and benefit people in rural regions who have historically had a harder time pursuing a four-year degree. It would be a win all around.”
I couldn’t agree more.
In addition to the benefits mentioned by Wilk, having a four-year university in the High Desert would also be a huge win economically. Not only would it create hundreds of new jobs locally, both to build the university and to work there, it would encourage people to stay, invest and build roots locally, a huge win for our local economy.
It really is a win all around.
One example of the impact of bringing a four-year university to a community is UC Merced. A study of the economic impacts of bringing UC Merced to the region showed that the university’s economic contribution is $514.6 million per year. Due to the enormous success of the university, they are now expanding.
To show the impact of just building a new university, their expansion — which includes adding 13 facilities to the campus and almost doubling its space — has so far contributed $510.9 million, only through construction costs. And that says nothing about the huge success they’ve found by providing businesses in the community with a skilled, trained and knowledgeable workforce.
Just thinking about the impact UC Merced has had for their community makes me so hopeful about the promise of a four-year university in our own backyard.
I am grateful to Sen. Wilk for starting the process this year with his bill to pursue a feasibility study, and when I’m serving as your state senator, I will proudly carry the baton and fulfill my first campaign promise of ensuring that one day, we have our very own university right here at home.
Kipp Mueller is a Canyon Country resident and candidate for the state’s 21st Senate District, which encompasses the Antelope, Santa Clarita and Victor valleys. “Democratic Voices” appears Tuesdays and rotates among local Democrats.
The post Kipp Mueller | New Cal State University Site Is Needed appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
Kipp Mueller | New Cal State University Site Is Needed
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09.04.2024
You may remember that I first ran for State Senate in 2020. Then, I was running against incumbent Sen. Scott Wilk. It was a difficult campaign, especially since the pandemic started in the middle of it and we had to campaign without the opportunity to have face-to-face conversations with folks in the months before Election Day.
However, before things shut down, I spent a lot of time in the community, talking with folks about their biggest challenges and what they were hoping for from their elected leaders in Sacramento.
Several things stuck out to me in these conversations, but they all confirmed what I had heard others in Sacramento say about our community: We were the Forgotten District, always last in line for resources. Hearing this made me even more committed to serving our community in the state Senate, and is the reason I am running again this year.
However, there was one thing I heard from so many that it really stuck out to me: “Why are we one of the only regions in the state without a four-year public university?”
They were right. No one should have to drive more than an hour to attend a four-year university.
Not having one in our........
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