USC President C. L. Max Nikias led a delegation of trustees and senior administrators to meet with lawmakers March 8 at the State Capitol in Sacramento.
USC delegates visited state Attorney General Xavier Becerra as well as legislators including state Sens. Kevin De Leon, Ed Hernandez, Ricardo Lara and Holly Mitchell and Assembly Members Kevin McCarty and Phil Ting. Nikias also hosted lunch for a number of lawmakers to discuss key issues facing USC and its students.
Topping the agenda was a proposed a proposed $1,000 cut in the maximum Cal Grant Award for students attending private nonprofit colleges. The cut has been proposed as part of Gov. Jerry Brown’s latest budget and is slated to go into effect July 1. This is the latest pressure on Cal Grant awards for students attending private non-profit institutions. In relation to the cost of education, the award has actually decreased in value by 37 percent since 2000.
“We made the argument today that students who come from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds should be able to access a full spectrum of choice when it comes to higher education,” Nikias said.
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