|
TO: Boulder Campus Teaching & Research Faculty, Staff, Deans, Directors, Dept Chairs, System Administration FROM: Chancellor Richard L. Byyny SENDER: Jima Wendzel DATE: December 11, 2002 SUBJECT: Campus budget reductions Dear Colleagues: I am writing to provide more detailed information on CU-Boulder budget cutbacks than was available for my most recent update on Dec. 5. As predicted, the Boulder campus must reduce its budget by $11 million on a permanent basis, in response to state revenue shortfalls and a struggling economy. Through central campus actions, we will be able to reduce the full impact of the reductions by $5 million, but the remaining $6 million must be covered by reductions in continuing general-funded departmental budgets. I deeply regret the impact these budget reductions will have on people - people who make valuable contributions everyday to the success of this great university. We have tried our best to reduce human impacts as well as negative effects on our ability to meet our core mission. Nevertheless, some layoffs are unavoidable and some academic programs will be discontinued or reduced. Although not every detail has been finalized, I want to share with you what we know at this point. We expect to make the following permanent reductions:
Included in these budget reductions are reallocations of about $533,000, primarily in the Administration Division, which will be redirected within that division to pressing needs of the campus. Most of the individuals involved in layoffs during this budget reduction have already been notified; the remainder will be notified by Dec. 13. We will provide 60-day notices, rather than the required 45-day notice, in order to allow more time for planning and transition. Our campus cutbacks include the elimination of the Integrated Marketing track in journalism and the tourism program in business. Courses associated with these programs will be handled by other tracks, as appropriate. These campus budget cuts also include elimination of or reduced funding for about 20 small academic centers, from among about 100 centers on campus. We are working to lessen the impact on people and programs as much as possible, but these cuts will be felt at both the human and organizational level. Certainly, these unavoidable layoffs disrupt the lives and careers of the affected individuals on our staff. I am also concerned that the necessary loss of faculty positions - even though these positions happened to vacant - may slow our efforts to improve the quality of education at CU-Boulder. Nevertheless, as difficult as these reductions are for us, I remain optimistic about the long-term future of the Boulder campus. CU-Boulder ranks among the country's best public research universities - and we are aiming for the next levels of excellence. As a campus, we have been through difficult times before - and emerged stronger and better than ever. I am convinced that we will continue that tradition through the current tough times and into the future. Thank you for your continued input and support. Sincerely, Chancellor Richard L. Byyny |