Message to Carolina community: University Budget Update
February 24 addendum to February 20 message:
It has come to my attention that a portion of my Feb. 20 message, which I intended to allay the concerns of tenure-track faculty members, may have had the opposite effect. The confusion stems from the fact that, while I referred to tenured faculty and contract faculty explicitly, no reference was made to tenure-track faculty. Thus, with this addendum, I want to emphasize that we have no plans to discharge tenure-track faculty members because of the economic situation, nor do we intend to use the current economic downturn as a basis for tenure decisions.
February 20, 2009
Dear Carolina community,
I write to summarize comments that I made today at the Faculty Council meeting and that I will make again at the Employee Forum community meeting on March 2.
As everyone knows, we are in extraordinary financial circumstances that have profound implications for the University. Nevertheless, I remain confident that Carolina has what it takes to get through these difficult times and emerge stronger.
There are a number of reasons why it is still very difficult to discern precisely how we will be affected. The first is that no branch of state government has yet submitted its budget. The Governor will be the first to prepare a budget, and we will find out about that at the same time as it appears in the newspapers.
The second is that – even once the Governor and two houses of the General Assembly start releasing budgets – it is not known for sure what the income tax receipts will be until some time after April 15.
Finally, although the federal stimulus bill has been signed, it will be a while before the precise details of how those funds will be managed and distributed are known.
Despite all these caveats, we feel we must prepare and take preliminary actions to manage cuts to our state appropriations and reductions in endowment income.
The first point I would like to make is that we do not foresee circumstances that would lead to the elimination of tenured faculty positions, the canceling of fixed-term contracts in the middle of their terms, or alteration of tenure decisions based on budget concerns. These measures would require that we declare financial exigency, which I will not do.
Next, I commit to you that the administration will undergo budget cuts that are at least as large as those faced by the campus. We have already begun making changes in South Building and the offices of the vice chancellors. Although we must await legislative authority to do so, the vice chancellors are willing to generate savings through furloughs and believe that any furloughs that occur should result in larger percentage decreases for higher-paid employees. General Administration is working with state government to pursue furlough authority.
I know that some managers are already contemplating layoffs as they plan for next year’s anticipated cuts. Knowing that, I’ve talked with Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources Brenda Malone about creating an Employee Assistance Fund. It will be funded, in part, by the savings we are able to achieve centrally, by an unrestricted gift from a donor and a generous donation from the Department of Athletics. The primary purpose of the Employee Assistance Fund will be to provide enhanced outplacement services for employees who are laid off. We also are exploring ways to broaden the services offered through our Employee Assistance Program for those employees who need support during these challenging times.
Finally, I want to point out that many of the difficult decisions that lie ahead of us will be made over the summer, since we will know much more about the tax revenues and the legislative budget process at that time. The Faculty Executive Committee has procedures for meeting over the summer, and in fact, this is partly why the Faculty Executive Committee was established. So faculty input will be gathered through the Faculty Executive Committee as needed during the summer since there will be no regular meetings of the full Faculty Council. We will continue to work with the Employee Forum and Student Government to get staff and student input.
I'd like to end by pointing out that we realize the serious circumstances we face and that lives are being impacted. We will continue to work tirelessly to make the right choices for Carolina while maintaining the spirit and morale that have always been part of our great university.
Holden Thorp