University officials and state legislators have expressed concern about the potential effects of reallocating regent funding as part of Gov. Tom Vilsack’s proposed 2006 budget and its recommendations to the Board of Regents.

The Board of Regents is scheduled to discuss the proposed budget and its funding recommendations to Iowa’s three state universities at 7:30 a.m. Thursday at the University of Iowa Memorial Union in Iowa City.

Vilsack’s annual budget report, released Monday, included a recommended increase of $40 million in state appropriations for the regent universities for next year.

If Iowa State receives a similar percentage of the Board of Regents’ recommended budget, the university would get between $15 million and $16 million of additional funding from the proposed increase.

According to regent documents, if the universities were fully funded with $40 million increases through fiscal year 2009, state funding levels for Iowa State, University of Iowa and Northern Iowa would match by fiscal year 2010 what they were in 2001.

Regent and university officials said the funding would be able to hold tuition levels stable and at predictable rates based on inflation indicators in the costs of higher education.

In exchange for the increased funding, the universities committed to reallocating at least $20 million annually in internal resources to top-priority educational programs and research at the individual schools.

It could be hard for Iowa State to reallocate funds during the next four years, ISU President Gregory Geoffroy said.

Although it will be hard to move money around the university, he said, the reallocation in exchange for increased funding will, in the end, enhance the university.

But with universities’ budget cuts during the past five years forcing yearly allocations, some university officials and state legislators said reallocating money among already cash-strapped programs could further jeopardize the quality of education at the universities.

“We need to know what we mean when we say we are going to reallocate. Does it mean cutting funding to programs, merging programs, combining colleges and laying people off?” said Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, member of the House and Senate Joint Education Appropriations Subcommittee.

“We need to know what’s behind the curtain.”

Geoffroy said support for Iowa State’s well-known strengths could draw businesses to partner with the university, attract students and develop research initiatives — all of which would benefit all departments financially.

During the past four years, the university has focused on funding and developing programs at Iowa State that are focused on bioscience and biotechnology initiatives, as reflected in the 2000-2005 and 2005-2010 strategic plans.

This, however, has concerned some professors on campus about neglect and reduced funding to departments and programs that are not considered high-priority areas for the university.

“Indeed there are certain areas in biosciences and technology where Iowa State has indicated a strategic advantage, but areas such as social sciences and humanities — which are vital to students’ education — will also stand to benefit from this board plan,” said Michael Whiteford, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.