Higher Education Leaders Urge Caucus Attendance

Published: March 17, 2014 | Read Time: 2 minutes

Leaders of the State Board of Regents are urging Utahns who value higher education to attend and participate in the political party caucuses held between March 18 and 27 in neighborhoods across the state.

“The benefits to our state as a whole and individual Utahns from higher education are undeniable,” stated Bonnie Jean Beesley, chair of the Utah State Board of Regents, the governing board of the eight public colleges and universities. “From better jobs to better parenting and more involved citizens, numerous studies and personal experience from many thousands of graduates confirm the value of a college degree or certificate. Our ability as a system to have the capacity to continue to provide access to an affordable and high-quality college experience depends upon the support of our elected officials—and that all starts at the caucuses this month.”

Dan Campbell, Vice Chair of the Board of Regents, added: “As a state, we have the goal of increasing the percentage of our population with a college degree or certificate to 66 percent. This is a considerable increase over where we are today, but as the Governor and other leaders have pointed out, it is necessary to have a trained workforce for the quality jobs our economy needs. All of us in higher education are working toward this goal, but it is clear that public support is critical, and that begins in the political process in March at party caucuses.”

“On behalf of the State Board of Regents and the Utah System of Higher Education, we urge Utahns who appreciate the importance of accessible, affordable, and quality public colleges and universities to participate in the party caucuses and voice their support,” Beesley concluded.

The location of neighborhood caucuses can be found on the website of the political party as indicated below. For more information, visit vote.utah.gov.

The Democratic Party caucus will be held March 18; visit utahdemocrats.org.

The Republican Party caucus will be held March 20; visit utgop.org.

The Constitutional Party caucus will be held March 27; visit utahconstitutionparty.com.

The Independent American Party caucus date is yet to determined; visit independentamericanparty.org. The Libertarian Party caucus date is also undetermined; visit http://www.libertarianutah.org/.

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