This is the fifth in a series of Newsmaker interviews with business-community leaders focusing on the state budget and the economy.

As Rhode Island commissioner of higher education, Jack R. Warner oversees the academic and financial performance of the state’s three public colleges – the Community College of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College and the University of Rhode Island. His job has never been tougher: Looking for a place to trim costs to close the gaping budget shortfall, state leaders have cast their eyes toward higher education. In turn, the R.I. Board of Governors for Higher Education is tightening its belt, which Warner says was already pretty snug.

PBN: There’s talk in the General Assembly of abolishing the R.I. Board of Governors for Higher Education to save money. How do you defend the necessity of the work you do?

WARNER: If the board went away in its current form, there would still be the need to provide some oversight, coordination and representation of the state’s interest in making sure the public institutions adhere to their public purposes. … A proposal that would do away with any central board would certainly not be something I would be in favor of. Every state has some statewide mechanism for overseeing its public higher-education system.

Each institution is going to have to replicate a lot of the staff work that gets done here. We do legal work, we do administration and finance and budget preparation, we negotiate all the contracts, the collective-bargaining agreements for the system. All of that will have to be replicated, which means that staff will absolutely have to be added to support those three institutional boards.

PBN: But why do some legislators think doing away with the state Board of Governors would save money?

WARNER: Our budget for the office is about $2.5 million, so [on] the face of it, you could suggest that it would save that $2.5 million. But I would say you’re going to spend at least that amount of money in additional staff at each of the three institutions to support the work of the three separate boards. At a time when we’re talking about consolidation, this proposal would actually produce more duplication of effort and less oversight. It’s a puzzling proposal.

PBN: Aside from talk of abolishing the Board of Governors, how have the state’s fiscal troubles affected Rhode Island’s public higher-education system?

WARNER: We’ve been asked to turn back about $3.7 million from our operating funds in this fiscal year. So it already has [had] an impact. That forces us to keep large numbers of positions vacant. It’s really our only significant method for dealing with a cut like that at this stage of the year. And we anticipate another $17 million cut for next year. So that’s over $20 million in two years, spread over the three institutions.

PBN: Do you have alternatives in dealing with state funding shortfalls?

WARNER: What we’ve done in response is we’ve been trying to grow enrollment modestly even with the downturn in finances because we want to keep our institutions viable. Institutions that are on a growth path are more viable then those cutting back their enrollments. The good news is there is really unprecedented demand. Applications are up at all three institutions so we know that students and families perceive that we have good quality at an affordable price.

PBN: Speaking of price, are we going to be seeing tuition increases to offset the cut back in funding?

WARNER: That’s possible. It will depend on the amount of state support that we get for next year. The Board of Governors has already approved increases for in-state students at around 6 percent – tuition and fees … [and a] 7.5-percent increase for out-of-state students at the university. So we will generate a bit more revenue from those tuition increases, but short of what we really need to operate the way we want.

PBN: There’s a bill under consideration in the General Assembly that calls for combining the three public colleges, and there’s been a suggestion at the Statehouse that Rhode Island College and the Community College of Rhode Island should be merged to cut costs. What are your feelings on the matter?

WARNER: Our take on this is the question: Can we make administrative savings of some significance while at the same time preserving the institution’s identity that is so important to both students and alumni? Your degree is special and precious to you and when institutions are merged you lose that kind of identity. But we certainly take seriously the need to reduce costs.

PBN: So, do you support the idea of merging the schools, or not?

WARNER: No. In public higher education around the country, there are three distinct sectors. There are community colleges – open-admissions, associate’s degree-granting institutions – that need their autonomy because they reach out to their communities. They’re heavily involved in work-force training, they’re a community resource. Rhode Island College is the beginning point for a bachelor’s degree for many Rhode Islanders because it’s more affordable than the university. It has a mission focused on preparing teachers and providing other services for Rhode Islanders. Then the university is a research institution that has students coming to it from all over the country and all over the world. They practice highly selective admissions. •

INTERVIEW

POSITION: Rhode Island commissioner of higher education

BACKGROUND: Before being appointed commissioner six years ago, Warner spent 32 years in the public system of higher education in Massachusetts, including a 17-year stint as dean of student affairs at Bristol Community College, based in Fall River. After that, he served as vice chancellor of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education for five years. Warner worked as an associate chancellor at the University of Massachusetts—Dartmouth for two years before he was hired as commissioner in Rhode Island.

EDUCATION: B.A. in psychology, University of Vermont, 1967; M.Ed. in education counseling, Springfield College, 1970; D.Ed. in higher-education administration, Boston College, 1983.

RESIDENCE: Warwick

AGE: 62