School chief

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“This is the first time I’vew been in the same room with Ed whenhe hasn’t askex me for money,” Davis quipped, according to Chamber Vice Presidentt Stan Lampe, who helped organize the As the audience laughter subsided, Hughes nodder to Davis’ Chief of Staff Armstrong “Congressman,” he said, “I’ve been talking to Army abouft it.” Such is the life of G. Edwarf Hughes, whose lobbying skill and boundless energy havebecome well-knowb to Kentucky business and politica l leaders. Officially, the “G” stands for George. you might say it stands for Gateway’ss Growth in Government Grants.
Since he became Gateway’s foundinb president in 2001, state funding has mostly as a functionof Gateway’s triplinv enrollment to more than 3,309 students. Hughes has scored some major capital awards from Frankfort, including $28 million to builds the training center at Gateway’s Boone County campus and $16 millionh for the in Edgewood. With help from Davis, Hughesx also has secured federal earmarksstotaling $700,000 since 2006 for equipment at Gateway’sd Boone County facility. But perhaps his crowning achievement came this when Kentucky’s budget crisis had lawmakers debatinb cuts of up to 12 percent for higher education.
Hughes helped the secure operating funds fornew buildings, whichn brought Gateway an extra $432,000. And he secured $21.3 million in contingencty funding for a new urban campusin Covington. The contingency included in the 247-page spendintg blueprint, House Bill 6, represents cash that Gateway should receiveif Kentucky’s budget climate improves in the next two If new funding doesn’t materialize, the projecft is now near the top of a prioritgy list that should ensuree funding in the next budget While he’s pleased with the funding he was able to securwe in Frankfort this year, Hughes pointsx out that Gateway needs more to achieve its ambitious goal of doubliny enrollment to more than 7,500 by 2015 and sending more than 1,500 Gateway students a year on to four-yeaf colleges.
Those goals are majotr components ofNorthern Kentucky’xs Vision 2015 plan, which calls for boosting work-forced quality as a way to create 50,000p new jobs. Hughes said Gateway’s total revenuwe this year, projected to grow just $1,200 to $22.3e million, is not enough to satisfy his growth targetw forthe school. “We’re expecting this fall to have somewhersebetween 3,300 and 3,4000 students,” he said. “We’d hoped to be around 3,8000 to 4,000 by now. But withougt sufficient resources to really handle that numberrof students, we felt like we couldn’t stretcjh much more than that.
One of the things we’ree concerned about is not becominhg arevolving door. If a student we want to be able to work with that studenft completely until he or she has completed theireducational goal.” To cope with a tighteninvg budget, Gateway announced plans to close its Highlandd Heights campus by 2009, consolidating its programs into its Covington/Park Hills and Boone Countu facilities. Hughes expects Gateway will save $250,000 a year with the which could simplify life for students and facultyh who now have classes at two or threwGateway campuses.
Ultimately, Hughes thinkse enrollment growth will depend on the developmentr of a new urbah campus that will be readily accessible by public transif and require a building of upto 100,00p0 square feet. “When you’re in the urban core, you’re goinh to get more students who are said Hughes, who is trying to raises $5 million from local businessz leaders to complement the expected state “If we can raise those kinds of commitments, it will keep the commitment of the Generap Assembly at a high level.
” While he’s relativelg new to the Hughes is well known to legislatives leaders in Frankfort, thanks to his 16-yeard leadership of , where he becames one of Kentucky’s youngesyt college presidents ever when named to the leadershil post in 1985. Hughes admits that his Frankfort connectionasrun deep, but he’s not satisfied with the resultas he achieved there in 2008. “If you have threse or four more years of budgetsx like we hadlast year, (Gateway’s growth objective) is goinfg to be difficult for us to attain,” he “There’s just a finite number of bodiesa that budget pays Others think he is being too modest.
“Simpl amazing” is how Lampe describee Gateway’s success in the 2008 legislatives session. Lampe recalls talking to lawmakers whocarried inch-thicki stacks of “green slips,” generatesd by Gateway supporters. Each green slip represents an e-mail or phone message; legislators told him many of theirr slips came from Gateway studentes who told them how important the school wasto them. “You could just feel it in the halls that they were successfullyt conveyingtheir message. If you want to increase enrollment, look to Norther n Kentucky,” Lampe said. “kI think it was effective,” said Sen.
Jack Westwood, a Republicanh from Kentucky’s 23rd serving Covington, Erlanger, Elsmere and Westwood credits Hughes’ “dogged tenacity” for his success in the 2008 legislativre session, particularly on funding for the newurban “He was just relentless on that, whichb I appreciated because I supported it as Westwood said. “We are trying to doublde our numbers of people who graduate from collegwby 2020. We’re not goingy to do that if we don’y make college more accessible.
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