Democratic state senators will visit UC Davis next Friday for the first of four town hall meetings at California campuses to address the issue of budget cuts proposed for higher education.

These listening sessions, organized by the Senate Majority Caucus in an effort to protect the state's investment in education, will provide an opportunity for community leaders and the general public to learn about the proposed funding cuts and ask questions.

State Sen. Mike Machado, D-Linden, will lead the town hall meeting at UCD from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in the Buehler Alumni & Visitors Center. Other town hall meetings will take place later this month at California State University campuses in Los Angeles and San Jose and at UC San Diego in May.

"Funding cuts to higher education will close the doors of opportunity to many of California's best and brightest students," Machado said in a statement. "Investing in higher education will help drive California's economic recovery and ensure its place as an economic leader."

Russ Lopez, a spokesman in Machado's office, said California boasts world leaders in the fields of biotechnology, medicine, information technology, agriculture, law, nano-technology, forensics and more because of the state's investment in education and the public's continued support of that investment.

UCD recently released a report measuring its economic impact on the region and state. For every public dollar invested in the university, the state receives $5 in return. In 2001-02, UCD contributed $2.7 billion to the California economy and generated 45,000 jobs. After the state government, UCD is the largest employer in the Sacramento region with 29,000 employees.

"It's heartening to see our elected leaders' recognition of the very positive impacts of our colleges and universities on the state of California," said UCD Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef. "The University of California, the California State University and the California community colleges all contribute substantially to the state's economy and immeasurably to Californians' quality of life.

"The UC Davis campus is pleased to host this first of four statewide town hall meetings to discuss the value of higher education and its important role in the state's economic recovery."

In all, there are 10 UC campuses and 23 CSU campuses reaching approximately 610,000 students.

Several budget cuts have been proposed in higher education for the 2004-05 fiscal year. Graduate student fees will almost double, financial aid to students from middle-income families will be cut, and Cal Grants to students attending private colleges will be slashed from $9,700 to $5,500.

Additionally, state colleges will deny admission to 20,000 deserving students next year and the UC freshman enrollment will be cut 10 percent, reneging on the state's promise in its 1960 master plan that guarantees every student an opportunity to attend college.

Lopez said legislators hope to find a way to avoid these cuts. He stressed that this is a bipartisan issue.

"We want to make very clear, this is an issue that hits both sides of the aisle," Lopez said. "This is really about keeping the promise that California has made to students since 1960."