Csu President Larry Edward Penley and President of Nchems to Speak at Denver Summit Saturday

Note to Editors: Reporters interested in attending the National Education Finance Summit at the Westin Tabor Center Hotel, 1672 Lawrence St., should register at press-room@ncsl.org.

Colorado State University President Larry Edward Penley and Dennis Jones, president of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS), will participate in a panel at the 15th annual National Education Finance Summit in downtown Denver on Saturday.

The summit on "Funding Education in the 21st Century: Preparing Students for a Global Economy" is sponsored by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Penley and Jones will speak on "State Policies to Enhance Productivity" at the Summit at 9 a.m. They will examine specific policy approaches to improve productivity at the institutional level – delivering education as efficiently as possible – and at the state level – ensuring that state dollars are well targeted and that states realize the full value from their investment in higher education.

Joni Finney with the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education will moderate the panel.

NCHEMS is a research and development center founded to improve the management effectiveness of colleges and universities. The organization made headlines in Colorado recently for a study illustrating the state’s $832 million shortfall in higher education funding.

Penley has consistently cited the NCHEMS study to further illustrate how increasing funding for higher education can help transform Colorado’s economic prosperity.

Jones is known for his work on state and institutional approaches to budgeting and resource allocation, strategic planning, educational needs assessment and formulation of state policy.

-30-