University faces loss of 40 full-time jobs

Standing before an overflow crowd of more than 200 students and faculty packed into the Vanport Room Wednesday afternoon, university President Wim Wiewel reiterated the grim reality the university has been bracing for: a probable 20 percent budget cut in state funding, 13 percent tuition hike and university-wide salary reductions.

“It’s going to continue to be scary,” Wiewel said. “That’s what it is, folks.”

Wiewel assured the budget forum attendees that the 30 percent “doomsday” budget reductions would not happen, largely because such a cut would conflict with a stipulation in the federal stimulus bill.

“The 30 percent cut is not, in fact, a possible one,” the president said.

Even so, every state employee now faces what will effectively amount to a 4.6 percent reduction in pay for the foreseeable future. The state views employment in terms of full-time equivalency, meaning a 1.0 FTE is a full-time employee.

A 1.0 FTE employee would be reduced to .954 FTE, with the possibility of certain days being designated as unpaid furlough days. While the cut is being called temporary, Wiewel said that it all depends on when the state Legislature decides there is enough money to return salaries to their current levels.
 
Lindsay Desrochers, vice president for finance and administration, said that a 20 percent cut would mean finding $28 million to trim from the university’s $234 million education and general fund budget.

Part of the fallout will be the loss of at least 40 full-time jobs, which will include both unfilled vacancies and currently occupied positions. Desrochers said that positions on the chopping block will be indentified in a few months.

“Let’s be realistic,” Desrochers said. “We know there are going to be some painful reductions in any scenario.”

Several classes face switching to differential tuition—essentially additional charges on top of tuition. The School of Business Administration and the College of Engineering and Computer Science already offer classes at the graduate level that use the differential tuition model. Soon, classes in the School of Fine and Performing Arts and throughout the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences—most of them graduate level—will join that list.

Desrochers said that the university will operate on a preliminary budget at a reduced level until the state Legislature approves its final statewide budget this summer. She said she expects the negotiations will be difficult.

“This is going to be a messy session,” Desrochers said.

Dean Marvin Kaiser talked about a new task force, the Long-Term Institutional Fiscal Strategies Committee (LTIFS), which aims to assess the university’s organizational structures and operational approaches to improve efficiency and cut costs. The committee will also explore additional revenue sources.

Despite being the bearer of bad news, Wiewel kept it light with several jokes, and the audience erupted with laughter when Dean Kaiser shoved a microphone that was causing feedback away from Desrochers.

“That’s a man I want on my team,” Desrochers said to hoots and cheers, providing a brief moment of levity amid another day of gloomy news.