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Budget
worries raised at forum
Although complaints were more common than questions at the budget forum on March 7, by the end of the nearly four-hour meeting, the audience told Chancellor David Scott the discussion had been helpful. Scott offered to organize another forum within the next few weeks. Originally conceived as an opportunity for University community members to ask questions about potential budget cuts in FY2001, the forum saw angry speakers, mainly students, line up to share their opinions. Common concerns were the availability of Spanish-language and other undergraduate courses, the wisdom of adopting PeopleSoft, the size of administrators' salaries and the campus's investment in information technologies, and the proposed budget cuts to academics. Scott opened the forum by explaining that the academic area is one he is seeking to protect during the expected belt-tightening next year. "Whatever adjustments we end up making, it was never intended to be uniform," he said. "The academic area and the Vice Chancellor for Research will be held to levels of 1 percent." Other areas will have to plan for larger cuts to support academics, he said. Associate vice chancellor for Finance and Budget Joyce Hatch, presented several charts outlining past and projected revenues, which predict a "total FY2001 problem" of nearly $5 million, given a 4 percent increase in state appropriations for the campus. After Hatch's presentation, moderator Frank Hugus, head of Germanic Languages and Literatures, opened the floor for questions. Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Javier Cevallos, deputy provost John Cunningham, Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Paul Page, Deputy Chancellor Marcellette Williams and others joined Scott in responding to the speakers. Associate Chancellor for Information Technologies John Dubach defended the campus's decision to adopt PeopleSoft, saying that even Cleveland State University, which has threatened to sue the company, has expressed satisfaction with much of its service. He said the areas where Cleveland State is having difficulty, such as financial aid, will not be implemented on this campus until near the end of the six year adoption period. By then, he expects, the bugs should be worked out of the new system. Tom Coish, Student Legal Services Office attorney, said the campus community should consider filing its complaints and requests elsewhere. "We're...fighting over crumbs from a pie that's inadequate when we should be out fighting for a bigger pie," he said. He suggested the President's Office, Board of Trustees and Legislature would be good places to ask for a bigger budget. Many speakers expressed concern that Scott and the administration do not value the academic branch of campus enough. There were frequent calls for steadfast support of "students, teachers and books." Scott reiterated his support for the academic side, calling faculty the "sine qua non" of the University. Although he said small cuts next year are likely to be necessary and the University is in need of a major investment by the Legislature in the cam-pus's aging physical plant, Scott asked members of the audience to reconsider the use of the term "crisis" to refer to the current budget situation. "You have to be careful about announcing a crisis because you can affect applications and the perception of the University," he said. After repeated accusations that administrators withhold budget information, Scott encouraged students to approach Hatch, Page and other campus officials when they would like such information. He also repeatedly asked them to work through their representative student government bodies to ob-tain information and express concerns. "How can we do meaningful input?" he said. "Help us work that through." One speaker suggested administrative
officials hold office hours. Scott replied that he had done so
his first year as chancellor and said it might be time to try
it again. |
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