Knoxville Campus Budget Cuts

To: UT Knoxville Campus Faculty and Staff
From: Interim Chancellor Jan Simek
Subject: Knoxville Campus Budget Cuts

Over the past several weeks, news reports from Nashville about the state's economic downturn have generated interest and apprehension among many here on campus. It is, no doubt, a difficult time for all of us.

Today, I wanted to share the broad outlines of our plan for UT Knoxville to deal with the budget cut in the next fiscal year as a result of this downturn. The campus leadership was informed of the specific budget reduction figures Wednesday and we believe it is important for us to share as much information with you as we can on this tight timeline.

The state budget shortfall has resulted in a 4.1 percent funding reduction to the UT system, which has, in turn, resulted in a 5.7 percent base funding cut for UT Knoxville.

First, the central campus administration will handle a 3.7 percent reduction - thereby reducing the necessary cuts to academic and non-academic units by an average of 2 percent. The central campus administration budget reduction plan includes targeted program and position cuts, increased efficiencies in administrative processes, reallocation of resources, increases in charges to auxiliary funds, as well as delays in planned expenses in areas such as the Instructional Equipment Fund.

While this budget reduction cannot come without pain, it is necessary.

In this plan, there will not be a hiring freeze and we will continue to fill critical positions. There will not, regrettably, be pay raises for faculty and staff in this budget.

Our goal is to allow maximum flexibility for the deans and vice chancellors to make the cuts in their areas, which will result in more strategic decisions. These cuts must not be across-the-board reductions.

The provost will submit the proposed cuts for the academic units after receiving recommendations from the deans, while the vice chancellors will submit the proposed cuts for their areas. We will share those recommendations with the campus community as soon as they are finalized.

While we regret that these reductions are required, we believe that the institution is harmed more when all programs are cut equally. We will make tough decisions, with an eye toward preserving the quality of our programs. In some units, these cuts could come in the form of elimination of positions. In other areas, it could mean the elimination of programs. These difficult decisions are best made by those closest to the programs, who share our commitment to academic and programmatic excellence.

Even in these difficult times, we will not compromise on our commitment to providing the best education possible. As a way to deal with the ramifications of these cuts, we will explore options like limiting future enrollment, increasing the outsourcing of services and other inventive solutions.

I will look forward to hearing from many of you about innovative new ways to preserve academic quality while dealing with these difficult financial realities.

Thank you for your dedicated service to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and your commitment to serving our students and the entire state of Tennessee.

 

Posted May 16, 2008