The Springfield News-Leader from Springfield, Missouri • Page 7

NEWS-LEADER. FROM PAGE ONE Saturday, January 24, 2009 7A MSU applauds Nixon decision about funding Michael T. Nietzel, Missouri State president (right), addresses members of the university community after Gov. Jay Nixon (left) provided his budgetary for higher education Friday at MSU's Plaster Student Union. I i ft.

JEROME T. NAKAGAWA NEWS-LEADER FundingTwo-year schools won't raise rates Inside Missouri nh Politics Blog: Get C0M updates on the latest updates in state political news in our blog at is "outstanding for the state of Missouri," considering the state has one of the lowest state appropriations per student in the country. James Scott, an assistant professor in the Department of Finance and General Business, said it is heartening to see Nixon take a favorable stand on higher education. "The sun is out," he said. Nugent said Nixon has taken a visionary approach to higher education.

"The well being of tomorrow depends on how we educate our students today," she said. On Wednesday, President Nietzel declared the university would resume hiring for its open positions, including 90 faculty jobs. At the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology, department head Karl Kunkel said he was already back in touch with the final candidate for an assistant professor's job in sociology. Kunkel said negotiations with the candidate were nearing completion but halted over concerns about possible budget cuts. With Nixon's announcement, Kunkel said he was given the green light to proceed on Wednesday.

"It didn't hurt us," he said of the delay. Nietzel said no faculty positions would be cut but added it is common that not all open faculty positions get filled. On Friday, Nugent said the university would remain fiscally prudent, trimming unnecessary expenses. "We will continue to look responsibly at what is essential to our central mission, that is, educating our students," Nugent said. University resumes hiring process on its open positions.

By Didi Tang Faculty members at Missouri State University applauded Gov. Jay Nixon for his efforts to keep state funding to public universities intact next year, saying it is a sign Jefferson City realizes the importance of higher education to the well being of the state. "It's wonderful," said Pauline Nugent, chair of MSU's Faculty Senate. "It's giving higher education the pride and place it deserves in this democratic society." She made the remarks shortly after Nixon told a standing-room-only crowd at Plaster Student Union Friday afternoon that he would keep the same funding level to public universities if the schools would not increase their tuition fees. The governor has proposed the same deal for Missouri's community colleges.

The plan was first unveiled Wednesday and has been enthusiastically embraced by public universities and colleges, which had for weeks worried that severe cuts in state funding could lead to job losses, program curtailment and tuition hikes. On Friday, Nixon said the state's higher education would be spared from cuts and buck the national trend of increasing tuition. The crowd erupted into applause upon his declarations. Ron Bottin, dean of the College of Business Administration, said Nixon's plan State of the State on radio KSMU radio 91.1 FM will carry Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon's first State of the State address live at 7 p.m.

Tuesday. It will be followed by the live Republican Party response by Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder. JEROME T.

NAKAGAWA NEWS-LEADER Pauline Nugent, chair of the Faculty Senate (center), expresses her support of Gov. Jay Nixon's budgetary recommendations for higher education Friday during a question-and-answer session at the Plaster Student Union on the Missouri State University campus. Continued from Page 1A "I can't stand in front of this group of students and faculty and say never, never, never," Nixon said in front of a couple of hundred Missouri State University students and professors. That statement came after Nixon danced around the question before admitting to a reporter, "You're trying to be exceptionally clear, and I'm not being as clear." The governor said the state's tax revenues are a moving target and he couldn't guarantee anything. "I can't tell you what the tax revenues are going to be in February, March, April and May," he said.

certainly hope that the economy ticks up." Nixon appeared at MSU's Plaster Student Union to announce that two-year community colleges have also agreed to not raise tuition rates next fall in exchange for no cut in state funding in the 2010 fiscal year, which begins July 1. That means in-state tuition rates at Ozarks Tech- nical Community College and MSU's two-year college in West Plains will remain the same next school year. With the clock ticking on the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, Nixon will unveil his budget plans Tuesday in a prime time State of the State address to the General Assembly. The Democratic governor said capping tuition will help people afford job training programs at the state's 22 community colleges. their state funding.

The deal requires approval of the Republican-controlled legislature, which dictates spending of tax dollars. MSU President Michael Nietzel said the university is committed to honoring its side of the deal. "I think this proposal recognizes first of all the really difficult history we have had with inadequate funding for higher education in Missouri," Nietzel said. If approved by lawmakers, it also will make of the few states in the country where college tuition rates don't soar next year. "Here in Missouri, we're going to buck that national trend," Nixon said.

On Wednesday, Nixon first announced that the state's 13 four-year universities had agreed to keep their tuition rates at current levels next fall in exchange for Nixon's pledge to not cut Springfield Almanac Weather What is the combination of freezing drizzle and snow flurries Weather Live Doppier Radar, and current conditions at Springfield airhubs. named? National Forecast Temperatures High: 47 at 11:00 a.m. Low: 29 at Normal high: 42 Normal low: 22 Record high: 75 (1909) Record low: -10 (1963) National temperature extremes Friday for the 48 contiguous states: Low: -14 in Havre, Mont. High: 88 in Llano, Texas TODAY'S OUTLOOK: As frigid air holds over the northern Plains, colder air will advance into the southern Plains, mid-Atlantic and New England today. Rain showers will stretch along the leading edge of the colder air from the upper Texas coast to eastern North Carolina and northern Florida.

Snow showers and bands of steady snow will fall around the Great Lakes and the northern Appalachians. Regional Forecast TODAY: Mostly cloudy and colder today and tonight. Breezy tomorrow with times of clouds and sun; cold toward Jefferson and Kansas City and toward St. Louis. Heating degree days Friday's total: 27 Total for month: 740, 33 below normal Total for season: 2620, 59 above normal Heating degree days are the number of degrees by which a day's average temperature is below 65, roughly the point at which home heating begins.

Ultraviolet index Moderate: 3 0 11 Today's ultraviolet radiation risk from the sun at noon on a scale from 0 to 11. Local Forecast Today 6 a.m. wy 21 Cloudy Wind: 10-20 m.p.h. Chance of precip: 0 Noon Maryvllle 18 St. Joseph 23 Precipitation By 5 p.m.

Friday: 0 00" Total this month: 0.16" Normal since first of month: 1.56" Total this year: 0.16" Normal since Jan. 1: 1.56" Kansas City 26 Person jfe I potosi3o 1 On This Day Sun Moon Clinton 28 Sunrise 7:22 a.m. Set 5:29 p.m. Moonrise 6:26 a.m. Set 4:03 p.m.

Ft. Wood 32 Cape Joplin 33 Girardeau 33 Springfield 31 Snowstorms hit the Pacific Northwest and New England on Jan. 24, 1935. Winthrop, Wash, received 52 inches of snow in 24 hours, and Portland, Maine, had 23.2 inches. -10s -0s 0s 10s" 20s 30s" 40s 16s" 60s '70s ior "90s" 100s Jan 26 Feb 2 Feb 9 Feb 16 New moon First quarter Full moon Last quarter Mountain Home 37 Harrison 36 Recreation 25 Mcloudy Wind: NNE 7-14 m.p.h.

Chance of precip: 0 6 p.m. 23 Cloudy Wind: NE 6-12 m.p.h. Chance of precip: 0 Hours of daylight: 10 hours, 07 minutes Soil drying conditions: Moderate Sunday Live Doppier Radar, and current conditions at Springfield airhubs. The Ozarks today 110s Rivers Lakes KEY: Arising falling steady flooding BF is bank fi HI MISSOURI HI Lo Monett 32 18 Mountain Grove 32 14 pc Pressure 32 nil Snow Ava cm T-storms EE Flurries Temperatures (Fahrenheit) Precipitation Rain Ice Fronts Mount Vernon 33 18 River and stream levels (in feet) are as ol 5 p.m. Friday.

E33 Showers Cold Nixa Osage Beach Osceola Stockton 32 18 pc 30 15 30 15 33 19 32 15 pc James Riven Galena, up 0.0 to 3.5 (MFL 3.1, BF 15) Lake levels are as of 5 p.m. Friday. The levels are measured from mean sea level. Normal is Lo 16 pc 18 19 pc 17 15 18 pc 16 pc 19 17 15 pc 16 17 Low Warm High Stationary West Plains Bolivar Branson Buffalo Camdenton Cassville Gainesville Greenfield Hermitage Houston Lebanon Marshfield ARKANSAS llnitnrl Ctatae Prcprecipitation, Wweather, ssunny, cloudy, Nice, pcpartly cloudy, World rrain, trtrace, sfsnow flurries, shshowers, snsnow thunderstorms UIIIIVU (fiatC? Eureka Springs 31 21 pc Jasper 36 16 pc Fayetteville 38 20 pc Fort Smith 39 24 pc Today Fd Hi Lo Pre Hi Lo MFL is the level that is considered the minimum to be able to float or canoe stream or river at that access point as determined by either the National Park Service or local river outfitters. 4 Beaver Creek: Bradleyville, up 0.0 to 1.6 (MFL 1, BF20) Bryant Creek: Tecumsah, up 0.0 to 3.6 (MFL 7, BF 19) 4 Bull Creek: Walnut Shade, up 0.0 to 3.1 (MFL 5, BF16) Sun Hi LoW 16 1 59 36 pc 58 28 pc 26 17 sn top power pool elevation.

Beaver Lake: down 0.24 to 1119.0 ft (normal 1120); flow rate 7572.0 cfs A Bull Shoals Lake: up 041 to 653.4 ft (normal 654); flow rate 7130.0 cfs 4- Lake Pomme de Terre: up 0.00 to 839.2 ft (normal 839); flow rate 100.0 cfs 25 3 60 38 45 30 pc 24 18 sn 46 27 56 35 44 10 58 37 pc 42 18 45 26 37 19 Partly sunny; breezy Chance of precip: 20 Monday 13 0 sn Albany. N.Y. Albuquerque Amanllo Anchorage Asheville Atlanta Atlantic City Austin Baltimore Billings Birmingham Bismarck Boise Boston Brownsville Buffalo Burlington, Vt Casper Charleston, S.C. 50 32 6 -10 pc 38 31 sf 4 Buffalo River: Boxley, up 0.0 TLake of the Ozarks: down to 1.9 (MFL 4, BF 17); St. Joe, up 0.15 to 6579 ft (normal 660); 0.0 to 4.4 (MFL 4, BF 22) flow rate 7591.0 cfs 37 10 pc 79 59 pc 16 8 si 19 -1 32 13 sn 62 41 32 15 56 32 sh 37 18 sn 30 20 Snow and ice Chance of precip: 35 Tuesday 12 2 PC Charleston, W.Va.

59 Charlotte, N.C. 61 Cheyenne 23 Chicago 32 Cincinnati 55 Cleveland 45 Columbia, 5.C. 66 30 14 Lake Taneycomo: down 1.29 to 699.7 ft (normal 701.2) 4 Stockton Lake: down 0.08 to 868.2 ft (normal 867); flow rate 932.0 cfs Table Rock Lake: down 0.17 to 913.6 ft (normal 915); flow rate 8797.0 cfs Truman Reservoir: down 0.10 to 708.2 ft (normal 706); flow rate 0.0 cfs Current River: Van Buren, up 0.0 to 2.2 (MFL 4, BF 14); Doniphan, up 0.0 to (MFL 3.5, BF16) a Eleven Point River: Bardley, up 0.0 to 3.2 (MFL 4.5, BF13) Jacks Fork River: Alley Spring, up 0.0 to 1.8 (MFL 3, BF 8); Eminence, up 0.0 to 2.0 (MFL 4, BF12) 17 10 sf Today Hi Lo Acapulco 88 72 Amsterdam 42 36 Athens 69 57 Auckland 75 68 Baghdad 64 42 Bangkok 89 69 Barbados 86 75 Barcelona 63 41 pc Beijing 25 10 Beirut 65 54 sh Berlin 38 28 pc Brasilia 79 67 Buenos Aires 93 73 Cairo 68 53 pc Cancun 81 57 Caracas 84 70 Dublin 43 39 pc Geneva 37 31 sn Hanoi 46 44 sh Havana 73 54 pc Hong Kong 57 50 Jakarta 88 78 Jerusalem 59 48 Johannesburg 74 60 Kabul 49 24 pc Kiev 39 38 Lima 81 69 pc London 43 36 Manila 88 71 sh Mexico City 75 39 Monterey 59 46 Montreal 2 -6 Moscow 30 28 sf Nairobi 85 57 Nassau 77 65 New Delhi 74 54 pc Panama 90 73 pc Paris 44 36 Rio 81 73 sh Rome 55 43 Sanluan 84 72 pc Sarajevo 47 28 Seoul 22 13 sn Singapore 85 77 Sydney 101 70 Taipei 53 48 Tehran 42 25 pc Tel Aviv 64 57 sh Tokyo 48 32 pc Toronto 16 1 Vancouver 38 25 Vienna 44 39 pc Warsaw 39 30 Zurich 40 32 62 37 Fri. Today Sun. Hi Lo Pre Hi Lo Hi Lo Las Vegas 61 52 0.05 66 47 64 44 pc Little Rock 67 38 0.02 38 29 pc 44 31 pc Los Angeles 66 57 0.20 66 52 64 48 pc Louisville 60 35 0.00 32 18 31 21 pc Lubbock 74 44 0.00 49 34 pc 66 36 pc Memphis 64 45 0.01 38 25 pc 45 31 pc Miami 72 50 0.00 74 56 76 60 Midland 78 55 0.00 53 38 68 44 Milwaukee 31 18 0.02 10 1 pc 15 2 Minneapolis 22 12 0.01 6 -6 pc 5 -7 Mobile 75 44 0.00 61 44 55 50 Nashville 62 35 0.02 38 20 45 30 pc New Orleans 76 48 0.00 65 46 61 53 New York City 47 27 0.00 39 18 28 20 pc Norfolk, Va.

60 27 0.00 52 28 37 25 pc North Platte 24 20 0.06 25 11 sn 16 5 sn Oklahoma City 57 36 Tr 38 24 pc 46 30 pc Omaha 24 20 0.02 16 11 15 8 sn Orlando 70 30 0.00 72 46 pc 74 53 pc Pendleton 31 22 0.00 35 24 32 18 sn Philadelphia 54 23 0.00 40 18 29 16 pc Phoenix 73 58 0.01 72 53 pc 73 52 pc Pittsburgh 50 27 0.01 30 9 sf 22 8 Portland, Maine 32 14 0.01 31 -2 pc 18 -1 pc Portland, Ore. 50 30 0.00 45 33 41 27 Providence 41 17 0.00 38 9 27 12 pc Raleigh 60 29 0.00 55 28 42 29 RapidCity 14 13 0.03 14 1 7 -2 sn Reno 48 34 0.13 52 31 45 24 Richmond 63 26 0,00 50 23 38 24 pc Rochester, N.Y. 45 24 0.05 18 7 sf 15 6 Sacramento 57 48 0.15 56 45 56 38 SL Louis 46 30 0.00 28 15 28 15 Salt Lake City 47 30 0.19 49 35 43 26 San Antonio 78 52 0.00 63 37 pc 65 56 pc San Diego 67 58 0.05 66 55 64 52 pc San Francisco 56 51 0.15 56 47 54 44 Santa Fe 57 35 0.00 53 31 54 30 pc St Ste. Marie 27 21 0.01 9 -2 sf 8 -1 Savannah 69 32 0.00 66 43 52 40 Seattle 44 30 0.00 43 30 40 27 pc Shrevcport 73 51 Tr 47 33 53 42 Sioux Falls 18 14 0.03 10 0 7 -2 sn Spokane 28 17 0.00 30 14 25 10 pc Syracuse 44 25 0.02 18 4 sf 14 3 Tampa 67 37 0.00 71 52 pc 75 55 pc Topeka 36 26 0.00 26 20 27 17 Trenton 55 20 0.00 38 14 29 14 pc Tucson 70 54 0.06 71 47 71 47 Tuba 54 31 0.00 35 24 pc 42 28 pc Washington, D.C. 53 26 0.00 42 26 34 24 pc Wichita 45 32 0.00 30 21 34 20 pc Wilkes-Barre 45 20 0.00 34 9 pc 25 9 pc Wilmington, Del.

50 21 O.OO 40 14 29 17 pc Springfield air hubs Atlanta 5635 Today: A little a.m. ht rain; otherwise, mostly cloudy. cloudy. Chicago 122 Today: Breezy and much colder with clouds and sun. Partly cloudy and frigid.

Cincinnati 3014 Today: Mostly cloudy, breezy and colder. Tonight: Partly cloudy and cold. Dallas 4432 Today: Breezy and much colder with clouds and sun. Tonight: Mainly clear and cold. Denver 4224 Today: Cloudy.

Tonight: Detroit l57 Today: Mostly cloudy, breezy and much colder. Tonight: Mostly cloudy and frigid. Las Vegas 6647 Today: Mainly mm: cloudy with a passing shower. Tonight: Patchy clouds. Memphis 3825 Today: Periods of sun, breezy and much colder.

Tonight: Partly cloudy and cold. Minneapolis 6-6 Today: Frigid with clouds and sun. Tonight: Partly cloudy and frigid. Orlando 7246 Today: Sun and clouds; beautiful in the afternoon. Tonight: Partly cloudy.

St. Louis 2815 Today: Mainly cloudy and colder. Tonight: Mostly cloudy and quite cold. Tampa 7152 Today: Clouds and sun; pleasant in the afternoon. Tonight: Partly cloudy.

23 0.00 38 0.00 39 0.00 14 0.00 18 0.00 33 0.00 21 0.00 53 0.00 19 0.00 I 0.04 42 0.00 3 0.05 26 0.02 26 0.00 57 0.00 25 0.02 15 0.02 13 0.10 29 0.00 23 0.00 25 0.00 21 0.06 19 0.02 30 0.00 27 0.00 27 0.00 29 0.00 II 0.00 52 0.01 32 0.02 31 0.02 19 Tr 15 0.00 7 0.02 50 0.00 31 0.00 7 0.00 3 0.05 34 0.12 4 0.02 19 0.03 5 0.05 15 0.01 26 0.00 19 0.00 12 0.00 0.02 67 0.00 56 0,00 30 0.00 47 0.00 27 0.00 12 0.00 32 0,00 Columbus, Ohio 48 Concord, N.H. 37 22 11 28 -2 pc 44 32 pc 49 38 32 13 pc 63 54 34 20 pc 7 -5 sn 52 39 6 -8 38 20 sn 20 12 pc 78 65 14 7 9 -6 sf 20 -4 sn 49 37 34 20 pc 44 30 23 3 sn 14 5 28 15 pc 19 11 48 34 23 13 pc 18 -6 pc 58 50 pc 22 12 pc 33 8 15 2 sf 18 9 1 -15 71 43 28 20 pc 4 -10pc 1 -14pc 44 28 2 -14pc 15 3 9 -10 10 -6 43 29 28 18 pc 21 6 pc 13 -3 sn 79 67 57 52 22 14 pc 52 42 63 46 pc 27 23 sn 24 12 42 24 12 8 15 7 4 -14 pc 64 41 pc 31 20 Snow and ice Chance of precip: 35 Wednesday Dallas Dayton Denver Des Moines Detroit Duluth El Paso Evansville Fairbanks Fargo Flagstaff Grand Forks Grand Rapids Great Falls 32 19 1 -15 pc 0 -14 pc Solunar tables The solunar period schedule allows planning days so you will be fishing in good territory or hunting in good cover during those times. Major periods begin at the times shown and last for 1.5 to 2 hours. The minor periods are shorter. Ji 2 -16 pc 18 5 sf 8 -9 7 -5 54 28 Green Bay Greensboro, N.C.

61 Harrisburg 34 16 pc 31 5 pc 16 4 sn 79 67 pc Major Minor Major Minor Today 9:43 a.m. 10:08 p.m. 3.55 p.m. Sunday 10:29 a.m. 4:17 a.m.

10:53 p.m. Monday 11:15 a.m. 5:04 a.m. 11:38 p.m. 5:27 p.m.

Tuesday 11:36 a.m. 6:12 p.m. Wednesday 12:27 a.m. 6:37 a.m. 12:48 p.m.

6:58 p.m. Thursday 1:14 a.m. 7:24 a.m. 1:35 p.m. 7:45 p.m.

Friday 8:12 a.m. 2:23 p.m. 8:33 p.m. 37 21 Mostly cloudy Chance of precip: 25 AccuWeather.com Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. 2009 Harttord Helena Honolulu Houston Indianapolis Jackson.

Miss. Jacksonville Juneau Kansas City bZ 37 24 5 50 34 69 49 24 10 26 10.