'Asked this week by The Associated Press whether he's considering state funding of the project, Pillen's office said he is not including any funding for Memorial Stadium in his proposed budget.
Alberts and other university officials say the project will not use taxpayer money, instead relying on private fundraising and the athletic department's surplus funds.
"In other words, we could stop the stadium project today, but that would not do anything to mitigate the $58 million shortfall," said Melissa Lee, spokeswoman for the University of Nebraska. "The dollars that will fund the stadium renovation cannot otherwise be used to pay university salaries or keep the lights on or fund an academic program."
Some in academia want to see private fundraising for academic programs and staff, much the way athletics raises money for athletic programs.
UNL sociology professor Christina Falci, who is president of the American Association of University Professors' UNL chapter, said higher education fundraising outside of athletics is concentrated mostly in boosting research centers, student services and endowed chairs, not in aiding humanities and the professors who teach them.
Without a push to bring in such revenue for academia, she said, "you're going to shrink the breadth of courses that students can take."'
This is what it all comes down to. The optics are horrible, the priorities are out of whack for how universities *should* be run, Pillen is a dope, but the renovation money is coming from different sources than the academics and university budget cuts. Two separate things. I think the renovation is unnecessary and silly right now, and I sure as hell think the budget cuts are ridiculous (and are keeping me from a much deserved raise at the moment) but it is what it is.