Next Friday, the committee will meet with the university’s new CFO, Gerald Shields. At this point in the meeting, Senator Ballard-Kang shared the slide from Greg Rush’s presentation to the Board of Regents that put forward potential ways to save $7 million from the 2023 budget:
| Permanent Salary Reduction 15% over 100k | - | $ 500,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent Salary Reduction 9% between 70k and 100k | - | $ 550,000 |
| Restructure Bookstore contract or Book Scholarship | -$ 400,000 | |
| Reduction in institutional financial aid of 8% | - | $ 400,000 |
| Increase class sizes (40% reduction in adjuncts) | - | $ 400,000 |
| Eliminate 45 staff and faculty positions ($811k for every 10) | - | $3,650,000 |
| Operating Cost Reductions (10%) | - | $1,000,000 |
| 2% tuition increase | - | $ 100,000 |
| Total options listed above | - | $7,000,000 |
All faculty were encouraged to submit ideas about these proposals, or alternative ideas for cutting the budget, to her or any BASC member so these can be taken up with Vice-President Shields.
Regent Walston noted that all faculty input on these issues should get in right away since the Board of Regents meets again in March.
BASC is continuing work on getting course fees back into academic units and conducting a grants training workshop this semester.
Several senators and guests expressed strong concern about the proposals for budget cuts.
Concerned comments were also heard on the tenure and promotion suspension. A senator who was a candidate for tenure and promotion reported that the process had run on schedule from unit committees to chairs and deans to the university committee to the provost. When the process reached the acting president on schedule, she notified candidates that she would be taking the full time allowed to consider the applications. Then on February 1, 2022, the last day for her to act, she sent a letter to all candidates announcing that the process was suspended.
Meeting ended 11:55 a.m.
Senators