An Examination of Government Relations Offices and State Funding

Résumé du livre

With soaring uncertainty surrounding the financing of public higher education, institutions are faced with developing strategies that will enable them to effectively compete for state funding. One component to cultivating resources and relationships for colleges and universities are through government relations organizations. Utilized for developing rapport with political leaders and policy decision-makers, these groups are relied upon to prioritize higher education among the agendas of elected and appointed officials. As a result, the study examined the size of government relations offices serving major land-grant institutions, and, provided an analysis of the job responsibilities shared among personnel. In turn, findings were compared with levels of state funding corresponding to institutions participating in the research. Although the purpose of the study was to draw inferences concerning the effectiveness of personnel composition within these government relations groups, the overarching goal was to help establish a foundation for further exploration--and explanation--on higher education's involvement with government relations. (Contains 2 tables and 6 footnotes.).