Mica Soellner, Sarah Sabatke, Huiqi Xu, Kyle Veidt COLUMBIA, Mo.
November 10, 2016
Most residents don’t realize that the University of Missouri System is actively lobbying lawmakers in both Jefferson City and Washington D.C. So far this year the UM System has spent over $240,000 on its lobbying efforts.
Kenneth Warren, professor of political science at St. Louis University, says that lobbying is common among larger universities in the U.S..
“They have a right to use monies that go to the university from taxpayers, to lobby for their cause,” Warren said. “It’s part of a legitimate function of universities to do this.”
According to Elizabeth Vonnahme, associate professor of political science at UMKC, lobbying can occur on two main levels. The top level is working with politicians directly.
“They're trying to find sympathetic members of Congress or the state legislature…that they can provide information to and hopefully persuade those individuals to vote on legislation in a way that benefits the university,” Vonnahme said.
The other option is grassroots lobbying.
“The university might encourage students or parents to contact their legislators if there’s a bill that's going to appear before the state legislature before the U.S. Congress to try to get the university's position to win in that regard,” she said.
Sarah Spreitzer, director of federal relations for the UM System, is one of the main contacts for the university in the capital. A large part of her job includes visits to all four university campuses in the UM System at least twice a year. During these visits, she meets with the Chancellor, researchers and other staff who may be trying to accomplish things in Washington, D.C. Spreitzer says that an active presence in the capital is essential, which is why her office is located there.
“Most universities that are in the very high research category, like the University of Missouri, have Washington, D.C. offices,” said Spreitzer. “They’re set up to interact with federal agencies, to interact with the Congress.”
Spreitzer’s efforts cover a wide breadth of issues, which can make her job complicated, and Vonnahme says that some issues are harder to lobby than others.
“You might find yourself lobbying on an issue that becomes controversial and obviously universities don't want to be involved in much controversy if they can avoid it,” she said.
But when it comes to education issues, research is one of the easier areas to lobby for. Spreitzer believes that funding for the federal science agencies is a priority in their lobbying efforts to help benefit research.
“We spend a lot of time advocating for that, educating our delegation about the importance of federal funding for basic research activities,” Spreitzer said. “We compete for grants through the federal science agencies, and the more money that they have to compete in those grants, usually the better that we do.”
The UM System prioritizes programs that can help benefit social and educational initiatives. One example of that is the Pell Grant.
“Every year, we advocate for funding for the Pell Grant, which is a really important grant program for low-income students to access higher education,” Spreitzer said. “I think next year we’re going to be spending a lot of on the reauthorization of Higher Education Act.”
Spreitzer has advocated for higher education for over 15 years and believes that lobbying is a really important role for universities to be fully engaged with federal government through both research and education.
