The Board of Trustees met for the first time in 2009 Thursday at the Dorothy and Roy Park Alumni Center, where the Audit, Finance and Planning Committee informed the board of the University’s plans for weathering the current national economic crisis.
While rumors about budget cuts have abounded since 2008, Keith Nichols, director of news and communications for the University, said the board’s February meetings were mostly talk, with very little discussion about specific actions.
“The budget conversation with the Trustees at this stage is more informational, instead of ‘let’s solicit ideas,” Nichols said.
And the conversations aren’t blanketing the University as a whole, according to Provost Larry Nielsen, but are instead looking at each department on a case-by-case basis.
“We’re discussing the size of the budget cuts that different units should be making,” Nielsen said. “But so far no decisions have been made about precisely what we will do.”
Student Body President Jay Dawkins also said the cuts would be very calculated when the time came for a budget crunch.
“They’re not necessarily taking it across the board and cutting each department,” Dawkins said. “They’re being very specific and targeted about where they’re cutting funds.”
Despite not making any concrete decisions, Dawkins said the conversations were harrowing enough to make him regret the meeting which followed a luncheon.
“It was scary – some people lost their lunch,” Dawkins said. “Looked a bit like the Krispy Kreme Challenge, just the budget challenge.”
Proverbial vomit aside, Dawkins said Student Government is finding innovative ways to inform students, from the University’s new budget Web site to forums, but said until decisions are on the table, few students will relate to the deliberations.
“They’ve launched the new Web site, Budget Central, and we did the town hall forums,” Dawkins said, lamenting that attendance at the forums has been down. “We’re trying to find something exciting for town halls, but the biggest part is when decisions are ready to be made, we’ll be soliciting student opinions in many ways, through forums and events on the Brickyard.”
But Dawkins said students will likely remain silent on issues until campus life is threatened through course catalog cuts and limiting of campus resources, like D.H. Hill library.
“If they’re looking to close down the library certain nights, there are students that are very passionate about that,” Dawkins said.
Nielsen also said the University will strive to gauge the community’s wants and needs throughout the process.
“We emphasized to [the Board] that we are continuing to be engaged with the entire campus community about what it is we need to be thinking about and preparing to do in regard to the budget cut.”
Nielsen said the board was very receptive to the University’s plans, and that, in return, the administration was very interested in the board’s thoughts and suggestions.
“In terms of budget they’re very interested in knowing the status of our planning and our thinking,” Nielsen said. “We get their persective on what they want us to be thinking about. The Board of Trustees is the ultimate decision-making body for the University, and they’re the ones who are making decisions.”
And Nichols said the University is in good hands despite the economy.
“[One] thing to keep in mind is that our trustees are also business professionals,” Nichols said. “So they bring that perspective to the discussion.”
After the BOT session, the Student and Campus Affairs Committee met to discuss the Campus Culture Task Force and present the latest renderings of the proposed Talley Student Center restoration to the committee.
Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Tom Stafford presented a packet of concept art to the committee, and though he stressed the images were only concepts, the project is set to begin its search for initial funding in the fall.
The master plan centers on tearing down the current bookstore and building an addition to Talley that will house a newer and more user-friendly student store. It will also involve the expanding of University Dining in the center, and will house more student organization offices.
The project will seek to receive increased student fees in the fall and for the fees to rise in increments throughout the project’s construction. Dawkins and Stafford both pointed out that this way the students who will potentially get the most use out of the revamped center will fund the bulk of the project, while students in the near future will fund only the project’s initial start-up costs.
