UIS faculty from attended the Higher Education Appropriation Committee meeting
4/23/2026
Special thanks go to Dr. Kristi Barnwell for also giving testimony on the critical need for equitable funding.
Please see her statement below:
I am first-generation college student, the child of a single mother who lived in financial precarity for most of my childhood. I loved learning always. Like many of my students, I understood higher education’s value for creating social mobility and increasing my chances of having financial stability. My university education inspired me: to leave the country for the first time; to travel the world; to dream of getting a PhD; and to pass on my love of learning and the world to students, which I know I am fortunate to do as my career.
I tell you this so you understand: I am a TRUE BELIEVER in Public Education for the Public Good.