Also, the South's university health and science centers have become international centers in fighting disease. The region is now an important national banking center and a leader in education reforms. Perhaps most important, almost half of the nation's growth in college enrollment during the last ten years was in the South. In Louisiana, higher education also has come a long way, but we have much to do if we are to catch up to most other Southern states. They have provided new money for faculty salary increases, deferred maintenance, library and scientific equipment, the new Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning, endowed chairs for eminent scholars and endowed professorships.
Higher education is now a top priority.
A strong foundation for true reform has been laid through increased funding, governance restructuring, a new performance-based incentive funding plan, accountability and greater course work articulation among our colleges. This past spring, the Legislature endorsed Governor Foster's plan to create a new Louisiana Community and Technical College System with workforce development as a primary goal. Final approval for the new system will be up to the voters this fall. Like any new structure, the foundation is only the beginning. The financial and political support shown over the last two years must be systematically sustained if we are going to raise higher education in Louisiana to the level of our most progressive Southern states.