Category Archives: Budgets & Funding

Academic association to probe UTMB layoffs

Posted on June 15, 2009 by E Wayne Ross | Comments Off

The Daily News: Academic association to probe UTMB layoffs

GALVESTON — A committee appointed by the American Association of University Professors will travel to Galveston and Austin this summer to investigate whether the University of Texas Medical Branch used Hurricane Ike as a handy excuse to thin out tenured faculty.

“We don’t launch an investigation lightly,” said Eric Combest, associate secretary in the Department of Academic Freedom and Tenure of the 94-year-old organization based in Washington, D.C.

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Tagged AAUP, Budgets & Funding, investigation, Job cuts, Layoffs, UTMB

KAZAKHSTAN: Economic crisis knocks HE plans

Posted on June 15, 2009 by E Wayne Ross | 1 comment

EurasiaNet: KAZAKHSTAN: ECONOMIC CRISIS CRIMPS ASTANA’S GRAND PLANS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

Kazakhstan’s higher education system is taking a battering from the global financial crisis, jeopardizing Astana’s ambitious plans to turn the country into an Asian tiger economy. Thousands of young people face expulsion from universities as they find themselves unable to pay tuition and fees. The government has moved to quell public outcry by fast-tracking measures to assist financially-strapped students.

There are wider implications: problems in higher education could jeopardize President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s key priorities of transforming Kazakhstan into a knowledge economy, turning the country trilingual and making it one of the world’s 50 most competitive countries (Kazakhstan ranks 66th in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009).

Posted in Budgets & Funding

Tagged Budgets & Funding, economic crisis, Government, Kazakhstan

Cuts at U. of California at Riverside Reflect Harsh Realities for All of the System’s Campuses

Posted on June 9, 2009 by E Wayne Ross | Comments Off

The Chronicle News Blog: Cuts at U. of California at Riverside Reflect Harsh Realities for All of the System’s Campuses

San Francisco — In a memorandum that offers a look into the harsh decisions that leaders throughout the University of California system are making as they cope with further cuts in state support, the chancellor of the University of California at Riverside has announced that his campus will cut faculty and staff positions by 15 percent over the next couple of years and enroll fewer students in the fall of 2010.

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Posted in Budgets & Funding

Tagged Budgets & Funding, furloughs, Hiring Freeze, job attrition, Job cuts, job security, Layoffs, U of California, UC Riverside

30 workers, 45 majors to be cut at FAU as school tries to trim almost $17 million

Posted on June 8, 2009 by E Wayne Ross | Comments Off

Palm Beach Post: 30 workers, 45 majors to be cut at FAU as school tries to trim almost $17 million

Florida Atlantic University plans to lay off 30 employees and eliminate 45 majors in its effort to gouge $16.7 million from a budget already ravaged by two years of statewide cuts.

The proposal was released late Friday with an online video presentation by FAU President Frank Brogan.

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Brandeis Halts Retirement Payments

Posted on June 8, 2009 by E Wayne Ross | Comments Off

The New York Times: Brandeis Halts Retirement Payments

Buffeted earlier this year by the outcry over its plans to raise money by closing its art museum and selling the collection, Brandeis University said this week that it would suspend payments to the retirement accounts of faculty and staff members starting in July.

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Tagged Brandeis U, economic crisis, Retirement

Cal State May Cut Enrollment by 40,000, Chancellor Says

Posted on June 5, 2009 by E Wayne Ross | Comments Off

The Chronicle: Cal State May Cut Enrollment by 40,000, Chancellor Says

California State University will probably reduce its enrollment by 40,000 students, the largest single-year decrease in its history, if proposed cuts in state support are adopted, the system’s chancellor said on Thursday.

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Tagged Budgets & Funding, Cal State University, Enrollment, Students

CANADA: Academics call for greater transparency

Posted on June 4, 2009 by E Wayne Ross | Comments Off

World University News: CANADA: Academics call for greater transparency

The Canadian Association of University Teachers has called on the country’s universities to open their books so the causes and extent of the financial difficulties facing institutions can be better understood.

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Posted in Budgets & Funding

Tagged Administration, Budgets & Funding, CAUT, transparency, Unions

Georgia colleges can hire more lecturers

Posted on June 4, 2009 by E Wayne Ross | Comments Off

Atlanta Journal Constitution: Georgia colleges can hire more lecturers
State raises cap to 20% of faculty to help schools deal with recession

Students at Georgia’s public colleges may have more lecturers teaching their classes this coming academic year under a change approved by the state Board of Regents.

The board changed its policy last month to raise the cap on lecturers from 10 percent to 20 percent of a college’s faculty. The amended rule allows all colleges to use lecturers, not just research institutions.

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Tagged Budgets & Funding, Georgia, Job market

5 California Ballot Measures Fail, Making Deeper Cuts to Higher Education Likely

Posted on May 20, 2009 by E Wayne Ross | Comments Off

The Chronicle News Blog: 5 California Ballot Measures Fail, Making Deeper Cuts to Higher Education Likely

San Francisco — California voters rejected five ballot measures on Tuesday that were designed to help close the state’s budget deficit, leaving its public colleges and universities facing additional cuts of up to 10 percent in the support they receive from the state.

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Tagged ballot measures, Budget cuts, California

More Mystery Gifts

Posted on May 8, 2009 by E Wayne Ross | Comments Off

Inside Higher Ed: More Mystery Gifts

As the latest mystery donation to a university with a female president was announced this week, it appears that some gifts from a year ago were part of this unusual philanthropic campaign.

The latest lucky donation recipient, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, announced its $5 million gift Wednesday. And while some colleges with female presidents cross their fingers in hopes of being the next to receive a donation from the mystery giver, others think they might already have received theirs.

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Posted in Budgets & Funding, Philanthropy

Tagged Philanthropy

Louisiana State U. Press Might Get the Ax

Posted on May 7, 2009 by E Wayne Ross | Comments Off

The Chronicle News Blog: Louisiana State U. Press Might Get the Ax

Louisiana State University Press, one of the South’s top scholarly publishers, could fall victim to its state’s budget hemorrhage, and supporters are rallying to keep it alive. The Louisiana Legislature wants to slash funds for higher education, and that includes a proposed $40-million cut for the press’s home institution, LSU at Baton Rouge, said Bob Mann, a professor of mass communication there. He also edits a series for the press.

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Tagged Bud, LSU, University presses

Ontario: Queen’s atmosphere ‘tense’

Posted on May 4, 2009 by E Wayne Ross | Comments Off

The Kingston Whig Standard: Queen’s atmosphere ‘tense’
EDUCATION: Faculty association accuses university of balancing books on the backs of professors

Tension is mounting at Queen’s University, where the faculty union is accusing administration of balancing the books at the expense of professors and instructors.

Last week, Principal Tom Williams said layoffs would be unavoidable unless all staff agreed to cost-saving measures such as unpaid days off.

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Tagged Budgets & Funding, Contingent labor, Layoffs, Ontario, Queen's University

U of Washington cuts hundreds of jobs

Posted on April 30, 2009 by E Wayne Ross | Comments Off

Seattle Times: UW gives details of $73M in budget cuts

The University of Washington released details Wednesday of how it intends to slash its budget by $73 million over the next fiscal year.

The University of Washington released details Wednesday of how it intends to slash its budget by $73 million over the next fiscal year.

The cuts range from 9 percent in the College of Arts and Sciences to 16 percent in President Mark Emmert’s office.

UW budget cuts
Academic units

9 percent: Arts and Sciences ($10.5 million)

9.5 percent: Business ($1.9 million), Engineering ($4 million), Medical Centers ($1.6 million), Medicine ($5.3 million), Public Health ($0.8 million), Vice President for Medical Affairs Office ($0.1 million)

10 percent: Dentistry ($1.3 million), Nursing ($0.9 million), Pharmacy ($0.6 million)

11 percent: Built Environments ($0.8 million), Education ($1 million), Environment ($0.1 million), Forest Resources ($0.7 million), Ocean and Fishery Sciences ($0.9 million), Social Work ($0.5 million), Undergraduate Academic Affairs ($0.7 million)

12 percent: Educational Outreach ($0.2 million), Evans School of Public Affairs ($0.4 million), Information School ($0.5 million), Law ($1.6 million)

14 percent: Graduate School ($0.9 million)

Administrative units

8 percent: Research ($0.8 million)

10 percent: UW Technology ($2.6 million)

11 percent: University Advancement ($0.5 million)

12 percent: Libraries ($3.7 million), Student Life ($2 million), Minority Affairs ($0.6 million)

15 percent: Health Sciences Administration ($1.6 million), Office of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer ($0.1 million)

16 percent: Attorney General ($0.1 million), External Affairs ($0.8 million), Human Resources ($1.3 million), Planning and Budgeting ($0.5 million), President’s Office ($0.4 million), Provost’s Office ($0.9 million), UW Technology Office of Information Management ($2.6 million), UW Finance and Facilities ($7.7 million)

Branch campuses

9.8 percent: UW Bothell ($3.1 million)

10.1 percent: UW Tacoma ($4 million)

Other cuts

Instruction equipment fund: ($4 million)

Other: ($0.6 million)

Note: The effective cuts to some academic units are less than stated, due to the one-time allocation of about $10 million in reserve funds

Source: University of Washington

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U of Calgary faces budget crisis

Posted on April 27, 2009 by E Wayne Ross | Comments Off

Calgary Herald: U of C faces budget crisis

Tight times at the University of Calgary will get tighter in coming years, as the school will likely have to cut costs to avoid three consecutive years of deficits, starting at $17 million next year and rising each year after.

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UVM students protest again

Posted on April 27, 2009 by E Wayne Ross | Comments Off

Burlington Free Press: Students protest again
Demonstrator arraigned for trespassing

Students upset with budget cuts at the University of Vermont tried — with mixed success — to get faculty and staff workers to back them at a noontime rally Thursday, one day after a sit-in at the Waterman administrative building resulted in 31arrests.

“We demand President (Daniel) Fogel’s resignation,” Cecile Reurge, a 19-year-old freshman from Stony Brook, N.Y., said to the cheers of about 100 people gathered in front of Bailey-Howe Library. “We have no confidence in his leadership anymore.”

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Posted in Budgets & Funding, Protests

Tagged Budgets & Funding, Protests, Students

UVM unveils revised budget plan, hopes to shrink number of layoffs

Posted on April 27, 2009 by E Wayne Ross | Comments Off

Burlington Free Press: UVM unveils revised budget plan, hopes to shrink number of layoffs

The chief financial officer for the University of Vermont says he’s optimistic the school has figured out a way to avoid a second round of layoffs and possibly reinstate some of the part-time lecturers given pink slips earlier this year.

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Tagged Budgets & Funding, Layoffs, University of Vermont

New York: Parsons faculty fight dismissals

Posted on April 27, 2009 by E Wayne Ross | Comments Off

socialistworker.org: Parsons faculty fight dismissals

NEW YORK–Some 150 people, most of them teachers, rallied on April 23 in front of the New School administration building to demand the reinstatement of 12 adjunct faculty.

Dozens of students also turned out to support teachers in the Fine Arts department in the School of Art, Media and Technology at Parsons the New School for Design–the teachers were laid off just before spring break began.

New School, which Parsons has been a part of since 1970, essentially has a faculty of part-timers. Parsons faculty is made up of 127 full-time faculty members and 1,056 part-time faculty members. Part-timers make up an overall 89 percent of the New School’s faculty.

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Posted in Budgets & Funding

Tagged Layoffs, Parsons the New School for Design

Negotiators Report Progress on Antioch College

Posted on April 27, 2009 by E Wayne Ross | Comments Off

Inside Higher Ed: Negotiators Report Progress on Antioch College

“Major progress” has been made in negotiations for Antioch University to transfer Antioch College to its own board, clearing the way for the revival of the college, the Great Lakes Colleges Association announced Sunday night. The association has been mediating negotiations between the university, which suspended the college’s operations, and alumni who want the college — the residential liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio — to operate on its own. According to a statement from the association, a “preliminary draft of a set of definitive agreements” has been completed, although some issues remain unclear. Some of those issues, involving control of endowment funds and tax status, require approval of groups such as the Internal Revenue Service and the Ohio attorney general’s office. The statement said that both sides are working to have board votes on the transfer plan take place by June 30.

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Posted in Budgets & Funding

Tagged Antioch, Legal issues

Public Colleges Consider Privatization as a Cure for the Common Recession

Posted on April 27, 2009 by E Wayne Ross | Comments Off

The Chronicle: Public Colleges Consider Privatization as a Cure for the Common Recession

As state tax revenues plummet, some lawmakers and higher-education leaders are once again looking at loosening the bonds between state governments and public colleges to save money and give colleges the freedom to bolster their bottom lines in new ways.

Over the past two decades, college officials have often lamented the growing need to secure money outside of appropriations. But the continuing economic crisis has led to a new urgency on the part of some public colleges to shed more of their ties to states, despite the mixed results of previous such efforts.

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Tagged Budgets & Funding, Corporate University, Privatization

Mystery donor strikes again

Posted on April 22, 2009 by E Wayne Ross | Comments Off

AP: Mystery donor keeps giving to woman-run colleges

The mystery college donor has struck again — this time at Binghamton University in New York, whose financial aid office phone started ringing off the hook as word of an anonymous $6 million contribution spread across campus.

Binghamton is the latest of at least a dozen universities to receive donations totaling more than $60 million in recent weeks. The gifts have arrived with the same, highly unusual stipulation: not only must the donor must remain anonymous, but not even the college can know who it is or try to find out.

The recipient colleges seem to have almost nothing in common except this: so far, all are led by women.

Press & Sun-Bulletin: BU gets $6M mystery donation
Money to go toward scholarships, tuition aid

It appears the mystery donor has struck again.

This time, Binghamton University is the lucky school.

BU has received an anonymous $6 million donation, the largest individual gift in school history. The money, and the circumstances surrounding it, seem to follow a most unusual script.

“To have this come out of the blue, it really takes your breath away,” said BU President Lois DeFleur.

The gift came with two strings attached: BU had to promise it will not attempt to uncover the identity of the donor; and most of the money must be used for scholarships and student aid.

That follows the pattern of a mysterious benefactor, who in recent weeks has given more than $48.5 million to at least nine universities across the United States, including $8 million to Purdue University and $7 million to the University of Iowa.

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Posted in Budgets & Funding

Tagged development, donations, SUNY Binghamton, University presidents

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