HSU grappling with budget cuts By Matt Kapko Eye Reporter The Arcata Eye March 11, 2003 The state’s anticipated financial shortcomings are baffling the administration at Humboldt State University. It is expected to shuffle some large numbers in an attempt to ensure a continued vibrant campus and academic institution. Gov. Gray Davis recently proposed a $326.1 million reduction for the California State University system, beginning this July. If approved by the state legislature, the cut would force an $8 million reduction in HSU’s $80 million budget. To prepare for this unexpected slash to the budget, HSU President Rollin Richmond and others have worked on preliminary budget proposals to meet the anticipated reduction. “We must move forward with our budget planning because the class schedule and academic planning for next year are well underway,” Richmond wrote in a letter regarding the reductions. Noting that revisions are expected to come in the next four to six months, Richmond wrote, “We must prepare for potential adjustments that we may need to make in order to meet the large budget reduction we anticipate now.” To make those adjustments, academic affairs is expected to be hit the hardest with a reduction of more than $5 million. It will be expected to sustain a 9.6 percent reduction from its previously budgeted $52.2 million. They’ll be cutting the fat in the upper echelons of HSU’s administration as well. A $1,547,321 reduction will hit administrative affairs and development. This comes out of a $12,352,268 budget. Student affairs will suffer a $722,130 reduction and $110,286 will no longer be available to the president’s office. More than a half million dollars will also be cut from services included under “all university” and “other.” Richmond acknowledged that plans at this stage of the process are preliminary and very uncertain, said Elizabeth Hans McCrone, director of university communications. “What is clear is that reductions as proposed by the governor’s budget will affect all aspects of the university,” Hans McCrone remarked. “Given that absolute numbers for the state budget may not be finalized until the fall of 2003, it is indeed too soon to discuss specific program or department cuts as those decisions have not yet been made.” She noted part of the difficulty is that planning must still move forward, even under these unsure reductions, so that classes will be available. “President Richmond has been very adamant that protecting the academic integrity of the institution is his highest priority,” she said. “However, given that academic affairs has the largest portion – 65 percent – of the university budget, reductions as proposed will definitely impact faculty and students.” The reductions were prioritized and proposed by the executive committee and are based on criteria recently approved by the academic senate, Richmond wrote. Each of the university’s divisions is now working to prepare a plan to accomplish the reductions. A decision, or at least clearer picture, may come into focus on March 13, when the resources planning and budget committee and the senate executive committee receive a proposal prepared by the executive committee, based on recommendations from each of the university’s divisions. In the financial uncertainty that lies ahead for California, it is becoming clear that HSU is cautiously using this opportunity to prepare for the coming barrage. Home