In his weekly video message, President Ortiz recaps the California State Senate Budget Committee hearing, which was held at the Bronco Student Center last Friday. The president was one of a handful of local leaders in the Inland Empire to testify on the impact of an all-cuts budget.

The president painted a grim picture should the university lose 40 percent of state funding.

“At virtually every campus, the all-cuts budget would kill the mission of access and slow current students’ path to graduation,” Ortiz said.

Ortiz called on the state senators to show real leadership and offer a viable solution.

“I told them that we were waiting for answers. I explained that we will have some incomprehensible decisions to make if we stay on this path. According to the California Constitution, the new fiscal year begins in 59 days and the clock is ticking.”

To read the entire video message, download a PDF of the transcript.