Havasu Foundation for Higher Education, Inc.

Our mission is to develop a comprehensive
residential 4-year university in Lake Havasu City.

A Letter from the Foundation President

Thank you for your support for our university project for Western Arizona.

As you can see from recent news articles in January 2009 (see http://www.havasufoundation.com/) we are making notable progress on a 4-year residential university on the shores of Lake Havasu.  We firmly believe our vision will become a reality.

 Many area citizens have commented on how significant this project will be for the economy of our state and our region in particular. Even though the national economy is severely depressed, this country has always emerged from such cyclical lows stronger and more prosperous. Never have we failed to bounce back!

With that knowledge, even though the state legislature has made dramatic cuts in education, we are confident of a full recovery in the near future.

As we emerge from the current economic crisis, our Foundation intends to aggressively position the Lake Havasu university project to address the higher educational needs of our region and the state at large. To that end, we are evaluating each of the state’s three public universities as a potential partner and we intend to finalize that process and selection within a few months. We are moving forward!

We have also confronted the challenges posed to us over the past several years by developing an extensive business plan that covers every key financial and operational aspect of this campus.  We now have a scaled-down, better defined vision of the school. Moreover, we now have a profitable business model that can finance campus construction without a dime of local or state tax dollars. For the business plan “must read” executive summary, see; http://www.havasufoundation.com/news.htm

This plan also has a cost-to-attend design that could save our local citizens $10,473 per year compared to the costs of attending one of the metro area university campuses. Such cost savings are among the major advantages of a small-town, small-enrollment, high-quality, 4-year university campus.

Foundation members, many with advanced degrees and highly specialized skills, have invested 1,600 hours in the development of this business plan. To have contracted outside for such services would have cost $600,000.

To help our local experts, we have also secured the assistance of the Huron Consulting Group, Inc., a nationally recognized firm specializing in financial, managerial, technical, legal, industrial, medical, governance, and university services; http://www.huronconsultinggroup.com/  Huron is assisting with the review of the content and methodology of the business plan, as well as assisting with the formulation of a major market demand study. A grant from the PED has made this support possible.

The initial results of the first of dozens of market demand studies are impressive. For example, 84% of over 1,000 local students surveyed have indicated they would attend the Lake Havasu university campus if it were to open soon. Similar results have been recorded in a survey of several California high schools.

By the end of September 2009, such surveys will have been completed for all of the major high schools in Mohave County, Parker, and Yavapai County. From there we will survey parts of Western Maricopa County and most of the rest of Western Arizona as well as over 200 California high schools. You can check the survey instrument on; www.HavasuSurvey.com

We researched several small university models…public and private…within Arizona and California, including the two 2+2 campuses in Arizona. We investigated the economics of upper and lower division offerings, resident and non-resident student mix, management structure, curriculum, marketing, and student recruitment.

We built statistical tools to extrapolate into the Havasu campus model, data accurate to the penny for specific numbers of students. Our plans are well documented, with active links to the sources, and we have shared the results with the Arizona Board of Regents, legislators, and the three public universities.

The data we have been analyzing illustrates how a 1,000 student campus (which would be a miniscule 2/10^ths of 1% of Arizona university enrollment) will generate $25 million annually in revenues that would grow to $100 million annually with the multiplier effect as the money works its way through the local economy. An economic fiscal impact study will be conducted similar to that done by Phoenix and ASU for their new downtown campus.

We invite you to explore the many ways you might become involved in this project.  In order to serve your interest in the HFHE mission, we encourage your questions and feedback.  To that end, please check the meeting schedule on this home page for the dates, times, and location of our monthly board meetings. You are invited to attend.

Respectfully,

Jo Navaretta
Jo Navaretta
President
Havasu Foundation for Higher Education, Inc.
Email: jo@pitzerair.com