Ohio University’s Faculty Senate discussed the “sense of the senate” resolution at its meeting last night and expressed disapproval of the way the university presented the next fiscal year’s budget cut targets.
The resolution asks budget planners to re-evaluate the proposed reduction targets so that academics take less of a hit compared to non-academic units. It also requested greater transparency in the university’s budget planning processes.
“(The) Ohio University Faculty Senate resolves that budget planners re-evaluate the proposed targets to achieve a distribution that protects and advances the academic quality of the university,” states the resolution.
The reduction targets the university released earlier this month asked academic units to take a greater percentage cut than support units. On average, academic budgets were cut 4.47 percent.
By comparison, support units — which include the president and provost’s offices, Alden Library, the office of Finance and Administration and the office of University Advancement — received a proposed average reduction target of 4.34 percent, according to the report released by OU earlier this month.
“I’m not sure that there is a level awareness how severely strapped the schools and units are,” said College of Communication Senator Judith Lee.
In her two most recent presentations to the senate, Executive Vice President and Provost Pam Benoit explained that during the past several years, budget cuts have hit support units harder than academics. The non-academic units no longer have the flexibility to work with larger cuts, she added.
Benoit listed several areas that she said were stretched thin enough they could not deal with further cuts, including the OU Police Department and the custodial and grounds staff. She provided a specific example using the University Communications and Marketing office, a subset of the president’s office.
“University Communications and Marketing would have to curtail their marketing services to out-of-state students,” Benoit said. “It’s worthwhile to note; five percent of our enrollment increases as of late are from out-of-state students. … Not marketing to these students is not acceptable.”
However, senators said they would like to see more concrete proof that support units cannot survive with greater budget cuts.
“(Benoit) used a number of poignant examples about how we need custodial staff and fire extinguishers,” said John Gilliom, an arts and sciences senator who presented the resolution. “I don’t think any of us is saying we don’t need that. This resolution is just asking for a fuller exploration.”
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