RUNNER MAKING PUSH FOR UNIVERSITY IN A.V.

Byline: CHARLES F. BOSTWICK Staff Writer

LANCASTER -- State Sen. George Runner says Antelope Valley officials should form a new government agency to provide an advantage in seeking a state university for the area.

A joint powers authority created by local cities, counties, colleges and schools would signal to state officials that the valley is serious in seeking a four-year college, provide a single voice for lobbying and hold the power for steps such as acquiring land for a campus, Runner said.

``In order to be successful we have to have local governments involved,'' Runner, R-Lancaster, said.

Runner's proposal for a Antelope Valley Higher Education Joint Powers Authority is an outgrowth of a renewed effort led by the Antelope Valley Board of Trade to convince state officials to open a California State University campus in the Antelope Valley.

For years, Antelope Valley officials have said a four-year university would be an asset both for local residents and for local businesses, and they say the valley's population growth has made the idea practical.

Board of Trade members are studying what sorts of educational programs a university -- preferably a polytechnic institute like the state universities in Pomona and San Luis Obispo -- should offer and where there is a square mile or so of land to locate it. They plan to have a college master plan ready next March to present to state education officials.

The Board of Trade's higher education committee chairman, Bob Johnstone, supports Runner's proposal, saying the joint powers authority would fulfill the necessity to have elected officials' guidance in what will be a political decision in selecting college sites.

``To me I think that's an asset,'' Johnstone said of the authority.

While university officials have set no timeline, local leaders believe two or three new locations will be picked over the next 10 years for two or three new California State University campuses.

Antelope Valley leaders must make the effort to secure one of those, Runner said.

``We want to make sure we are on that list. They don't come to you because you deserve them,'' Runner said.

A joint powers authority headed by local elected officials would provide credibility for the effort, he said.

It would be the first for higher education in California, although joint powers authorities operate all around the state. Local bus operator Antelope Valley Transit Authority, for example, is a joint powers authority by Palmdale, Lancaster and Los Angeles County.

Logical voting members of the Antelope Valley Higher Education Authority would include Lancaster and Palmdale, Kern and Los Angeles counties, Antelope Valley College and the Antelope Valley Union High School District, Runner said.

Besides trying to secure a state university, the joint powers authority could work on expanding existing higher-education programs locally or encouraging private universities to open new ones, he added.

The 23-campus California State University system opened its newest college, California State University, Channel Islands, in 2003 in Camarillo. Before that, CSU, San Marcos, opened in 1988 in San Diego County as the first entirely new campus since the 1960s.

California State University spokesman Paul Browning said the university system has no expansion plans, but added that expansion often occurs at the direction of state lawmakers or as satellite campuses become full colleges.