The Red and Black

Issue date: 4/24/09 Section: News

ADAMS [Click to enlarge]

University President Michael Adams said "all bets are off" if the state imposes further budget cuts.

During the monthly Cabinet meeting, media briefing and University Council meeting Thursday, Adams spoke at length about the 2010 budget and the Board of Regents' decision last week to increase tuition.

"All in all, in this economic climate, it was an extraordinary board meeting for us - maybe the best for us in the last three years at the Regents level," Adams said. "The tuition increase that will move us near the mean for similar institutions was greatly needed. The continuation of the $100 fee was greatly needed."

Adams said the Regents' decision to increase tuition for in-state students by 25 percent and out-of-state students by 15 percent will allow the University to operate next year in a manner similar to fiscal year 2009.

The extension of the $100 fee - for the purpose of offsetting budget reductions - will bring in $7 million to the University, Adams told the council. The tuition increases for students not on the "Fixed for Four" plan will create additional revenue of $14 million for the University.

"We will be able to operate in 2010, pending unforeseen circumstances, at a level consistent with how we operated in 2009," he said. "We will not be able to add back as many tenure-track professors as we had hoped - we will have to do those with full-time, terminal degree people, probably on three-year contracts rather than tenure contracts."

Adams said there will be roughly the same number of vacant positions in 2010 as there were in 2009 - about 450 total, 180 of those being faculty positions. He does not anticipate layoffs or furloughs, but cannot rule out the possibility if the economy "becomes such that the state revenues continue in a downward spiral."

The University's priority is to protect as many jobs as possible, he said. But Adams said he intends to use furloughs, rather than layoffs, if additional budget cuts become a reality.

Adams said the University will comply with all budget plans made by the state legislature.

"My position remains that we will cooperate with state leadership and we will do whatever we have to do to make the budget balance," he said. "We will also cooperate in whatever form the cuts are required."

There are still unknown budget points, Adams said. Utility costs of $8.7 million and the $3 million gap in insurance coverage have yet to be factored in, and there are rumors of a special legislative session and additional cuts. But Adams was optimistic, noting the state needs the University's help now more than ever - and the University must be able to offer that help.

"Under the circumstances, I think we are substantially better off than most," Adams said. "The combination of the tuition increase, the removal of "Fixed for Four," the extra $9 million we were able to acquire in formula funding, will allow us to dig out of the hole."

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