UA geology prof and dean of sciences Joaquin Ruiz published a well-written convincing op-ed in the Tucson Daily Star yesterday laying out the benefits the university brings to Arizona through education, training and jobs.
I made the mistake of reading the online comments following the article. I thought there would be comments about the contributions UA makes to the community and economy.
Unfortunately, the first group I read were angry, bitter, often ill-informed attacks from people who seem to detest our government.
One theme was criticism of state tax dollars being used by the university. In the responses I didn't see this state specifically, but I understand that UA gets only about 30% of its funding from state appropriations, so it basically leverages those dollars 3 to 1 with outside funds coming into Arizona to create jobs and new opportunities here. That sounds like a good investment.