Latest budget update presented to Faculty Senate

Yesterday (Thursday, February 12), I had a chance to make a presentation to the Faculty Senate about the budget situation. This Friday Focus summarizes that presentation.

The Missouri General Assembly is just beginning to address the budget for Fiscal Year 2010. Hearings will begin soon in both the House and Senate. Governor Jay Nixon’s proposal for higher education – flat appropriation with no tuition increase – is being discussed as part of his overall budget recommendation. Many questions remain, often revolving around the federal stimulus package: the size of it, the stipulations for it, etc.

There promises to be several twists and turns in the process over the coming weeks. We all need to understand that the scrutiny and debate on various proposals, including the Governor’s, are appropriate and healthy. I am convinced that the Governor and the members of the General Assembly are aware of the benefits of a strong higher education system, and I believe that they will do everything in their power to maintain support for colleges and universities.

In the meantime, we must continue to proceed with caution. We will review expenditures, generate savings whenever we can, and continue to position the University to address any scenario.

In addition to the other measures previously announced, here are other steps we are taking:

• Leases– we are reviewing all current leases, especially those that will terminate within the next year, to see which of them might be reduced or eliminated without adversely affecting programs

• Special Campus-Wide Events– my office sponsors a number of campus-wide events, often with sizeable expenditures for food. Examples include the Legacy Day Celebration, the All-Faculty Luncheon, and the Staff Awards Luncheon. Although I plan to continue funding awards for meritorious performance by faculty and staff, I do intend to suspend funding for the food and expenses associated with each of these events, plus other such events as we identify them. I expect all units to implement reductions in these types of expenditures. While I consider these worthwhile events, we must look at every opportunity to reduce costs for non-essential activities.

• Consolidating/Eliminating Administrative Positions– you can expect more consolidations and eliminations in administrative positions as opportunities arise. The latest example is the new role for Dr. Art Spisak, which was announced February 6. In addition to continuing to direct the Honors College, Dr. Spisak will take over many of the responsibilities formally assigned to Associate Provost Chris Craig. The result is a significant savings that can be reallocated to other academic priorities.

• Savings in Operations– we will continue to identify ways in which we can save $5,000, $10,000, $15,000 at a time. For example, with the approval of Mike Duggan, Chair of our Board of Governors, we are going to greatly reduce the number of Board agendas we photocopy, and we will reduce the out-of-town Board meetings from three to one annually until further notice.

Finally, from the beginning of this budget discussion, I have pledged that I would do everything possible to protect and preserve current employees’ jobs. That commitment remains. Given the budget situation, however, I do not anticipate that we will be able to provide a salary increase for Fiscal Year 2010. We will try to fund promotions and make what I expect will be a small number of counteroffers in order to retain outstanding faculty, but you should not plan on any across-the-board or performance-based salary increase for next year. I thought it important that I announce my intent at this time to make that recommendation to the Board of Governors.

Of course, we will continue the ADP evaluation process. When our budget situation improves and we are able to resume making salary increases, we will, therefore, be able to take into account these ADP results for a multi-year view.

I hope this continued information is helpful to you. As always, I appreciate your support and welcome your feedback.