Some academic programs have suffered restrictions or limitations in their budgets or operations over the past few months as a result of the budget gap.
As requested by President von Arx and Father Paul Fitzgerald, “We are postponing three of our nine searches in the College of Arts & Sciences (my understanding is that searches are also being closed in other schools),” Robbin Crabtree, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, said. “A number of factors went into which of our searches would be postponed, and none of this has been easy.”
Staff searches will be postponed in history, math and economics. Although Crabtree continued to note in her email that she had attempted to get administrators to reconsider their choice to cut these searches in Arts & Sciences, it is unlikely that changes would be made. However, it is probable that the searches will continue next year, and the other six searches in other departments will continue as planned.
These three departments were not the only areas that were affected by budgetary concerns. A number of interdisciplinary programs had changes made to their funding in recent weeks as well.
“I did not ask these programs to spend less money this year, but rather to draw a portion of their spending from gift and endowment distribution accounts,” explained Fitzgerald. “I asked the same of academic programs across campus.”
Fitzgerald highlighted a number of other areas in which the University is continuing its funding for “its core academic mission – teaching and learning,” and noted that Financial Aid assistance for students has also been increased to assist students during these difficult economic times.
“To do this, we have tightened our belts in areas that don’t affect the core academic mission of the University,” he said. “There have been reductions in administrative costs and there is less travel and entertainment monies available, and this is as it should be in tight economic times.”
These cuts, according to many top administrators, are essential to closing the startling budget gap that emerged at the end of last semester. Remedying existing fiscal problems and preventing them from reoccurring is top priority. “It is essential that we develop a balanced [fiscal year 2013] budget that is consistent with this path to our long-term success,” President Jeffrey von Arx S.J. said in a recent campus-wide email.
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