By Doug Ward
Colleges and universities in Kansas will receive more than $100 million this year from congressional earmarks in the federal budget, according to an analysis by Inside Higher Ed.
That places Kansas second among states in the amount earmarked for higher education, according to Inside Higher Ed. Those statistics don't include $22 million for the Kansas National Security Innovation Center on West Campus, though. When those funds are added, Kansas ranks first in the amount of earmarks for higher education ($120.8 million), followed by Arkansas ($106 million), and Mississippi ($92.4 million).
KU will receive more than a third of the money flowing to Kansas.That includes $1.6 million for a new Veterans Legal Support Clinic at the law school, and $10 million each for facilities and equipment at the KU Medical Center and the KU Hospital.
Nationwide, 707 projects at 483 colleges and universities will receive $1.3 billion this year through earmarks, Inside Higher Ed said. In Kansas, the money will go to 17 projects, with some receiving funds through multiple earmarks.
All but three of the earmarks for Kansas higher education projects were added by Sen. Jerry Moran. Rep. Jake LaTurner earmarked nearly $3 million each for projects at Kansas City Kansas Community College and Tabor College in Hillsboro, and Rep. Sharice Davids earmarked $150,000 for training vehicles for the Johnson County Regional Police Academy.
Kansas State’s Salina campus will receive $33.5 million for an aerospace training and innovation hub. K-State’s main campus will receive an additional $7 million, mostly for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility.
Pittsburg State will receive $5 million for a STEM ecosystem project, and Fort Hays State will receive $3 million for what is listed simply as equipment and technology. Four private colleges will share more than $7 million for various projects, and community colleges will receive $5.6 million.
2024 federal earmarks for higher education in Kansas
| Institution | $ amount | Purpose |
| K-State Salina | 28,000,000 | Aerospace training and innovation hub |
| KU | 22,000,000 | Kansas National Security Innovation Center |
| Wichita State | 10,000,000 | National Institute for Aviation Research tech and equipment |
| KU Medical Center | 10,000,000 | Cancer center facilities and equipment |
| KU Hospital | 10,000,000 | Facilities and equipment |
| Wichita State | 5,000,000 | National Institute for Aviation Research tech and equipment |
| Pittsburg State | 5,000,000 | STEM ecosystem |
| K-State Salina | 4,000,000 | Equipment for aerospace hub |
| K-State | 4,000,000 | Facilities and equipment for biomanufacturing training and education |
| Fort Hays State | 3,000,000 | Equipment and technology |
| K-State | 3,000,000 | Equipment and facilities |
| KCK Community College | 2,986,469 | Downtown community education center dual enrollment program |
| Tabor College | 2,858,520 | Central Kansas Business Studies and Entrepreneurial Center |
| McPherson College | 2,100,000 | Health care education, equipment, and technology |
| KU | 1,600,000 | Veterans Legal Support Clinic |
| K-State Salina | 1,500,000 | Flight simulator |
| Newman University | 1,200,000 | Agribusiness education, equipment, and support |
| Seward County Community College | 1,200,000 | Equipment and technology |
| Benedictine College | 1,000,000 | Equipment |
| Wichita State | 1,000,000 | Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology, aviation education, equipment, technology |
| Ottawa University | 900,000 | Equipment |
| Cowley County Community College | 264,000 | Welding education and equipment |
| Johnson County Community College | 150,000 | Training vehicles for Johnson County Regional Police Academy |
| Total | 120,758,989 |
A return of earmarks
Congress stopped earmarks, which are officially known as congressionally directed spending or community project funding, in 2011 amid complaints of misuse. They were revived in 2021 with new rules intended to improve transparency and limit overall spending. They are limited to spending on nonprofits, and local, state, and tribal governments. Earmarks accounted for $12 billion of the $460 billion budget passed in March, according to Marketplace.
Earmarks have long been criticized as wasteful spending and corruption, with one organization issuing an annual Congressional Pig Book Summary (a reference to pork-barrel politics) of how the money is used. Others argue, though, that earmarks are more transparent than other forms of spending because specific projects and their congressional sponsors are made public. They also benefit projects that might otherwise be overlooked, empowering stakeholders to speak directly with congressional leaders and making leaders more aware of local needs.
Without a doubt, though, they are steeped in the federal political process and rely on the clout individual lawmakers have on committees that approve the earmarks. That has put Moran, who has been in the Senate since 2010, in a good position through his seats on the Appropriations Committee, the Commerce Science, and Transportation Committee, and the Veterans Affairs Committee.
What does this mean for higher education?
It’s heartening that higher education in Kansas will see an infusion of more than $100 million in federal funding.
Earmarks generally go to high-profile projects that promise new jobs, that promise new ways of addressing big challenges (security, health care), or that have drawn wide attention (cybercrimes, drones, STEM education). A Brookings Institution analysis found that Republican lawmakers like Moran generally put forth earmarks that have symbolic significance, “emphasizing American imagery and values.” In earmarks for higher education in Kansas over the past two years, that includes things like job training, biotechnology, library renovation, support for veterans, and research into aviation, cancer, alzheimer’s, and manufacturing.
One of the downsides of earmarks, at least in terms of university financial stability, is that they are one-time grants for specific projects and do nothing to address shortfalls in existing college and university budgets or the future budgets for newly created operations. They also require lawmakers who support higher education, who have the political influence to sway spending decisions, and who are willing to work within the existing political structure. For now, at least, that puts Kansas in a good position.
Doug Ward is an associate director at the Center for Teaching Excellence and an associate professor of journalism and mass communications.