Campus Budget
Chancellor's Budget Update to Faculty
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January 26, 2009
To: UMass Amherst Faculty
I want to welcome you back to campus, and to the start of a new semester. As you know, our institution is preparing to face unprecedented financial challenges in the months ahead, and over the last several weeks much has happened. Today, I want to give you a brief synopsis of the process we have undertaken to prepare for budget cuts now estimated to be in excess of $45 million, and to share my thoughts on how we can best meet this challenge.
I came to UMass Amherst in August because of the potential this institution has to be counted among our nation’s very best public research universities. My belief in that potential has not wavered, even as we as a community brace for difficult changes. My commitment to you is to retain our focus on this goal.
I was in Washington D.C. last week meeting with Congressman Olver, Senator Kerry and his staff and with Senator Kennedy’s staff. I was there working in support of the federal stimulus legislation, and the critical assistance it could provide to the university. While there is still work to be done on this front, and the final outcome is not clear, I believe we must argue forcefully that supporting public higher education is indeed in the public’s interest and among the most effective ways to bolster our staggering national economy. At the same time we must recognize that we must pursue all options that mitigate the impact of serious swings in public funding for the institution.
While in our nation’s capital, just after the inauguration, I was struck by how that great city was still abuzz with hope for the future, even in the face of truly dismal financial indicators. Our new President was somber, but hopeful, in his first address as our leader. He did not shy away from the challenges, nor did he promise instantaneous results. What he did say was that we as a people would meet our challenges and move ahead, together.
I believe the same is true for our university. We have challenges, but together, we can meet them. What gives me most hope for our collective future is you — our faculty. We are fortunate at UMass Amherst to have a faculty of extremely high quality. In every year but one since 2000 we have ranked among the top 40 public research institutions in faculty awards. For the past decade we have also ranked among the top 50 public research institutions in national academy memberships. We have many faculty members with international reputations in their disciplines as well as some of the top-ranked programs in the country. This is a strength to build on, a strength to preserve and protect.
Given this strength, coupled with the fact that our recent incoming classes of students are the best in our history, it is clear to me we must preserve faculty lines and academic departments as our highest priorities. While budget reductions in excess of $45 million will, of course, touch all parts of the institution, it is my belief that reducing the elimination of faculty lines and of academic programs is the best way to keep resources where they make the most difference. This strategy will require increased cuts in other areas, and I’ve asked our leadership team to look to ways to reduce administrative costs – including possible reorganizations of administrative and academic areas — as ways to lessen the need to cut faculty lines and academic departments. These discussions have broadened to include deans, department chairs, faculty, the Budget Planning Task Force, and others. In December, I asked the Faculty Senate to hold an all-Faculty meeting — set for Jan. 29 — to go over this process, to discuss the broad range of options, and to give me an opportunity to hear from many of you about your thoughts for our future. I encourage you to attend this important meeting, which was also sought by faculty. Also, I will be meeting with many of you at college and department meetings over the next few weeks, and I look forward to an honest and open exchange.
We learned of the first round of cuts from the state in October, and since then our administration has worked hard to involve faculty, staff and students in discussions to develop recommendations about how to best deal with this evolving crisis. While ultimately it is my responsibility to make decisions based on the best interests of the university as a whole, I believe broadly engaging our community in the discussion is the right thing to do.
To that end, we created a special budget web site at www.umass.edu/chancellor/budget.html that has a great deal of information, and I encourage you to go to this site to learn more. We have received hundreds of emails through this website, and we’ve already adopted some of the suggestions. Also, I announced in December plans for cuts of more than $500,000 in the Office of the Chancellor and the Office of the Provost, as well as delays and cuts in capital construction projects of $5 million and a reduction of $1.5 million in transfers from the operating to the capital budget.
Looking outward, we have also created a special advocacy website, designed to provide information on UMass Amherst to local, state and federal leaders, and to provide information to our alumni and friends so they can effectively advocate for our institution. This web site, located at www.umass.edu/investuma/, is part of a comprehensive communications plan we will launch this month to increase support for our institution in Boston and Washington, and will involve faculty, students, alumni, and friends in the days and weeks ahead.
Here on campus, I anticipate receiving recommendations from the Budget Planning Task Force by mid-February. The Governor’s budget recommendations will be made public this week, and the Board of Trustees will make their tuition and fee decisions at the end of February. At around the same time, the federal stimulus legislation should be completed, and the role of state government in distributing federal stabilization funds should become clearer. We are working hard on all these fronts, and will keep you posted on any developments.
Armed with all of this information, with the feedback we have received and will continue to receive over the next few weeks, I plan to share with the entire campus our overall plan to deal with the budget cuts by the end of March, although some parts of this plan may be known at an earlier date. To do so any sooner would not take into account all the variables that we must consider. To do so any later would not give us time to effectively manage the changes we must make.
As I wrote previously, facing such a budget crisis is not how I would have chosen to start my tenure at UMass Amherst, but I do not for a second regret my decision to come here, and truly appreciate the honor of leading this fine campus. I continue to believe that we will effectively weather this storm, and that our future together remains bright. I look forward to seeing many of you and hearing from you in the days ahead, and to meeting this challenge together.
Chancellor Robert C. Holub
