Ohio University's academic units proposed cutting faculty and limiting availability of programs to nonmajors to help fill a $15.7 million hole in the university budget.
The university's 11 academic colleges, along with the five regional campuses, the Center for International Studies, the Voinovich School and the library, submitted about 100 pages worth of budget proposals last week - totaling about $27.7 million in possible cuts.
Each unit submitted options for 5 and 10 percent cuts and will hear from the provost and head of Finance and Administration on the options next week. Throughout budget discussions this year, administrators have said there will not be across-the-board cuts. Top administrators promised to weigh the impact of particular losses on each unit.
The library's narrative did include cuts to some full-time personnel, but more of the reductions would likely impact resources. Scott Seaman, library dean, worries the library could be forced to cut back on subscriptions to some databases and begin charging students for borrowing audio and video equipment.
The College of Arts and Sciences, by far the largest unit with a budget of about $52 million, said such deep cuts would mean losing faculty, and therefore course sections. The college's process included each individual department submitting its own reduction plans, which the dean then compiled into a summary document.
Arts and Sciences Dean Ben Ogles estimated that a 5 percent cut would mean the loss of 169 sections, while a 10 percent cut would eliminate nearly 370 - the equivalent of about 40 instructors. Ogles said he does not think administrators will ask the college to take a 10 percent cut.
The College of Business also said cuts will reduce teaching staff. In his report, Dean Hugh Sherman said the college would have to limit or eliminate service to nonmajors, which could impact requirements in other colleges. Sherman's 10 percent cut is about $1 million.
Greg Shepherd, dean of the Scripps College of Communication, said his biggest concern was protecting tenured and tenure-track faculty, but that he worries faculty is the only thing left to cut.
Every college is in a different place
Shepherd said. Given the constraints that we have ... my only choice is to look at what I would consider to be value-added programs.
Shepherd's narrative includes what he calls a nuclear option: eliminating six to eight Group I faculty members if he is forced to cut 10 percent, about $1.3 million. Because the university cannot cut tenured faculty unless it declares fiscal exigency, Shepherd would likely cut tenure-track faculty and use external funding to pay some tenured faculty until they retire.
The College of Fine Arts presented a similar problem in its report. Dean Chuck McWeeny wrote the reduction scenarios both include only personnel due to repeated cuts impacting our operating budgets.
In an interview, McWeeny said he worries such cuts - mostly to support staff -could jeopardize the quality of student and faculty work.
David Descutner of University College suggested reducing his salary, lowering his pay by $10,000 in the event of a 5 percent cut. Descutner earns $162,155 a year including benefits. His other proposals include eliminating one University Professor Award (a $2,000 prize) and making further cuts to the dean's office budget.
The College of Education took a different track in its scenarios, requesting it be allowed to take cuts over a three-year period. The college argued it had already committed funding for next year, but other units have done that, too, making it unlikely Education would be on a three-year plan.
Still, to reach 10 percent, Dean Renee Middleton told the provost she would need to rely more on Group III faculty, which could threaten the college's accreditation. The college was in danger of losing its accreditation earlier this year but passed a review with flying colors in the fall.
In contrast to many of the other units, the Russ College of Engineering and Technology proposed shifting much of its reductions to other funding sources, such as endowment and grant money. While this can be a risk because such funding is not guaranteed, it did allow the college more flexibility. Still, Dean Dennis Irwin said he will lose some tenured and tenure-track positions to a 10 percent cut.
Several units, including the College of Health and Human Services, are discussing reducing or eliminating funding for graduate assistants, which deans say could negatively impact their graduate student enrollment. Health and Human Services, however, which would have to eliminate $1.2 million in a 10 percent cut, also proposed several new programs for generating revenue, which administrators say look like sound ideas. The programs include new summer classes, additional certificate options and expansions in some colleges.
Other academic units - including the Voinovich School and the Center for International Studies - proposed finding external funding and paring down their offerings. Units such as the regional campuses and the College of Osteopathic Medicine did submit proposals, though their reductions would not help the overall university goal because they are budgeted separately. Those proposals focused mainly on increasing efficiency.
Across the board, top administrators in the president's and provost's offices caution that the choice to include an item in these scenarios does not mean it will be cut. Units were asked to describe how they would function under various levels of reductions, but as administrators look for an overall 7 percent cut, they say they're exploring all individual concerns and suggestions.
1
News
Emily Grannis
