6iPSH NEWS S CAPITAL TIMES
eptember 4, 1992
Speech, from page 1
needs which will bring new resources into
the college.
Some of the 10 percent [cut] will be
recycled back to the units to support the
proposed reshaping plans of the college's
funds to be invested in activities designed
to improve quality. A portion of the funds
being permanently recycled , equal to one
quarter of the total cuts, will be committed
to remain at the college for reallocations
to strengthen the institution.
An additional amount, up to half of the
10 percent, will be competitively available
to colleges for further enhancements. So, I
want you to understand that the 10 percent
cut over three years is not as bad as it
sounds at first blush because new money
will be available for selected key new
strategic planning initiatives.
That is why, although I have received
the college leadership team's thoughtful
suggestions for cuts and enhancements
with much appreciation, I think it is
important that all faculty, staff and
students have the opportunity to give this
serious thought and communicate to me,
individually and by units, your best
thinking about how we can best meet the
mandates of the university future
committee.
Let me now share with you the specific
proposals I have received for a $1.3
million reduction in our permenant
budget, that's 10 percent over the next
three years.
Let me also put into context what 10
percent of our budget means. Approx
imately 86 percent of the college's
permanent budget is in salaries and even a
static budget loses ground over time
because of inflation. So although we will
get back new monies for reallocation and,
hopefully, for enhancements, and even
though these annual cuts are relatively
small in comparison with what is
happening to many other universities,
there will be impacts.
Roughly, the recomendations [from
division heads, school directors,
department heads, provost's staff and other
campus leaders call for} reducing our
permanent budget by $1.3 million. This
includes $3lB, 000 from physical plant,
$lB7, 000 from academic support,
$176,000 from student services and the
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remainder from academic areas. These
three-year cuts proposed are proportional
to the amount of our budget in each area--
40 percent operations and 60 percent
academic.
Although in year one, the cuts are
heavily weighted in the non-academic
areas, proposed cuts are to be approx
imately divided as 28 percent of the $1.3
million coming out of the budget in year
one, 41 percent in year two and 31 percent
in year three.
Although the university future
committee recommended that each unit
"With the need to put $1.3 million in cuts on the
table, it is important to note that limitations on our funds
make it impossible to reach this target without reducing
the college operations, including positions...these
recommendations focus on retirement and hiring
freezes, rather than major unit cuts. "
consider reshaping, there were no
recommendations for the consolidation or
elimination of any major college unit
here. Rather, much of the funds are pro
posed to come from retirements anticipated
in the next several years and from allow
ing vacant lines to remain unfilled.
The recommendations for requests of
new money, $328,000 in reallocation
funds and requests for enhancement funds,
could return almost $1 million to the
college focus on strengthening our aca
demic programs.
Recommendations for permanent cuts
for year one of the plan total $368,000.
Let me reiterate 'possible,' because all of
the recommendations from administrative
council are being presented to you only for
your consideration and feedback and there
are no conclusions yet that these are the
optimal elements for the final plan.
The items Proposed for elimination
include one costly graduate student recruit
ing activity, one vacant custodial position,
scaling back of costs in Continuing
Education, one full-time student-support
assistant in a program ending this year,
the reinstitution of the annual parking fee
program, a particularly painful recom
mendation for me to hear because faculty
council and I fought very hard over a two
year period to prevent the imposition of
this fee and we remain the only Penn State
campus not collecting this fee because we
have been subsidizing the necessary park
ing lot, sidewalk, and road repairs from
college resources, but it appears the time
has come when the college can't do this
any longer.
Other items proposed are to eliminate
two half-time faculty positions (both
currently vacant), a move to a four-day,
40-hour work week in the summer, a
reduction of divisional allocations in a
number of non-academic operations
including significantly reduced main
tenance and operation, day-to-day
operations, the reduction of some student
activities, leaving vacant positions in the
service station operations and inter
collegiate athletics, and reduced operations
in health and wellness services and other
support services.
With the need to put $1.3 million in
cuts on the table, it is important to note
that limitations on our funds make it
impossible to reach this target without
reducing the college operations, including
positions, but as I said, these recom
mendations focus on retirement and hiring
freezes, rather than major unit cuts.
In year one, we will have to
discontinue a number of our fixed-term and
wage-payroll positions as well as allowing
some vacant standing positions to remain
unfilled and these cuts will have an impact
on every activity of the college.
For example, current recommendations
for the elimination of several vacant
positions will mean a reduction in main
tenance and operations staffing and thereby
a reduction in the excellent support service
to which we are all accustomed.
There will also be a very direct effect
on support to students where capping of
vacant positions will affect intercollegiate
athletics as well as clerical support in the
Student Assistance Center, and reduction
of wage payroll positions will result in a
scale-back of other student support
operations, including health services.
Elective courses are being held to a
minimum. These are not easy cuts to con
sider but some down-sizing is necessaary.
Recommendations for permanent cuts
of $945,000 proposed for the subsequent
two years are more tentative at this time,
and I want to get as much feedback as
possible, including concerns, consider-
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Sep. 14 Mon. 4-6 Students
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ations and cost saving as you might be
able to propose to the strategic planning
committee at the hearings and through
your personal communications before we
finalize any proposal.
Therefore, I look forward to your
involvement in the consultation process
through October, most specifically on the
year-one cost saving proposals I've
reviewed with you today and your own
ideas on future possibilities for program
reductions, costs savings, and enhance
ments for quality improvement.
I'm pleased to point out that year-one
recommendations do not call for the layoff
of any current permanent faculty or staff
despite the large magnitude of the called
for cuts.
The $935,000 in new money re
allocations and enhancements recommend
ed by the college leadership to be requested
in our strategic plan include a focus on
significantly strengthening the new school
of science, engineering and technology,
developing the school of business, estab
lishing the school of public affairs,
improving undergraduate education and
classroom instruction through support of
the library, instructional services and
computing and information systems, staff
support for focusing on adult learners,
part-time students and other non-traditional
student populations, integration of contin
uous quality improvement initiatives and
establishing a facility renovation/upgrade
unit within PPM&O to focus on ensuring
the appropriateness of facilities for
teaching and research responding to the
increases in enrollments in education,
improving graduate education and contin
uing to develop outreach and economic
development initiatives.
I know this is a lot to digest in a short•
period, but I hope you will give me your
thoughtful ideas either in writing or
through your attendance at the open
faculty/staff sessions to be scheduled over
the next month. '
We come to the beginning of this new
academic year in a stronger position than
we've ever been. And even though we'll be
working hard this year to improve our
quality in tightening budget times, I am
convinced that we will not lose our
momentum. We will follow our strategic
plan, including the strengthening of our
academic programs and our research
productivity, the initiation of creative
student supports and the cost effective
development of our physical plant through
a process of continuing quality
improvement.
Penn State Harrisburg is on the move.
I appreciate and applaud the advances
you've made in the past few years and I
look foward to working with you this
year, our year of threatening opportunities.
I expect we will have one of the most
exciting student classes we've every had,
we have a faculty body now that just
sparkles with new ideas and energy, and a
truly outstanding staff that is the envy of
every other campus in Penn State.
So, I'm looking foward to this year and
I hope you are as well. I can state un
equivocally that I intend to continue to
serve this institution at an energy level
equal to my last eight years of committed
loyalty to this university.
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