January 21, 2009
Dear Colleagues,
Last Friday I received a letter from the University of Louisiana System Office concerning preliminary planning assumptions for next fiscal year. Louisiana’s Division of Administration and Board of Regents advised that higher education should begin to plan for reductions, over and above the current reduced appropriation level; the additional cuts could range between $64,590,813 and $116,426,425 for just the University of Louisiana System. The Division of Administration and Board of Regents employed the same procedure for arriving at the FY 2009-2010 campus reductions that they used for the most recent mid-year reductions, which was on a pro-rata basis. At the University of Louisiana at Monroe, we are asked to begin planning for the following budget cutbacks:
Minimum reduction: $ 7,799,744
Maximum reduction: $ 14,059,218
Members of the Cabinet met over the weekend and discussed the ramifications of these amounts and the procedures for developing preliminary plans in response to the Division of Administration, which requests our plans by January 26, 2009.
To accommodate this request, Dr. Richters, Dave Nicklas and I will meet with the deans Tuesday to discuss the impact of these amounts on the academic integrity of the institution. We will also meet with the Strategic Resource Allocation Committee to discuss the issues surrounding reductions of this magnitude.
The plans that we develop over the next few days will be preliminary and broad in their scope. We all know that reductions of this size require substantial input from several campus constituencies, specifically our faculty and administrative budget committees. I assure you that before any action is taken on campus there will be ample opportunity for your input.
I must emphasize again that these reductions are preliminary numbers and any plans that we develop will be subject to change. However, it is safe to assume that next year there will be additional reductions of some magnitude. ULM, through our decentralized budget development process, is well-prepared to respond to these extremely challenging times. I make this statement because I believe in you and our collective ability to persevere in difficult circumstances.
Before these amounts, or any reductions for that matter, are finalized, we will have the opportunity to make our case to the Board of Supervisors and, if needed, our legislative delegation. I will keep you informed of the appropriate time and specific message that we deliver to the ultimate decision makers.
I ask you to please be patient, and remember that nothing is set in concrete now or in a week, or in a month, so anything you may hear will be only rumor. I urge you to trust the process and to trust each other over the coming days, weeks, and months. If you hear anything that startles you, call or e-mail me and I will tell you what I know to be true. I will keep you apprised of any new developments pertaining to the budget as soon as I obtain new information.
James E. Cofer, Sr.
ULM President