Spring Break
Miami calls for faculty cuts due to budget constraints
Austin Fast
Issue date: 10/31/08 Section: Front Page
Many answers about Miami University's financial future are still unknown, but university administrators have made one thing clear: coping with the financial situation will not be easy.
President David Hodge gathered with a panel of four other university administrators for a financial forum Thursday afternoon in the Williams Hall television station.
Hodge and the panel discussed challenges to the university during a period of economic uncertainty and took questions from a small cross section of students, staff and faculty.
"As we move forward, this is not simply about cutting off things," Hodge said. "It's about deciding what's most important, making sure we prioritize those and pooling money and resources into those to make sure we're a stronger institution."
Hodge said 80 percent of Miami's budget is tied up in salaries, meaning faculty cuts must be made.
"Ultimately, we have to make some very difficult and painful decisions," Hodge said. "And inevitably that means some positions will be eliminated."
Provost Jeffrey Herbst does not anticipate that a reduction of faculty will cause a significant or noticeable change in class size. Hodge added that if every faculty member taught one additional class once every four years, there would be no change at all to the current average class size.
According to Hodge, the university is allowing departments all over the university to self-evaluate and come up with individual ways to respond to the crisis.
"A lot of the heavy lifting is being done by directors through the university," Hodge said. "We've tried to not micromanage from the top, but allow our good people to do what they're supposed to do, which is figure out how this all fits into the big picture."
David Creamer, vice president of financial and business services, said he thinks departments are good stewards of their funding, but said he is still watching to ensure it is being spent appropriately.
"Everything is getting an extra review," Creamer said, "but we're trying to make sure that the most essential things get through."
President David Hodge gathered with a panel of four other university administrators for a financial forum Thursday afternoon in the Williams Hall television station.
Hodge and the panel discussed challenges to the university during a period of economic uncertainty and took questions from a small cross section of students, staff and faculty.
"As we move forward, this is not simply about cutting off things," Hodge said. "It's about deciding what's most important, making sure we prioritize those and pooling money and resources into those to make sure we're a stronger institution."
Hodge said 80 percent of Miami's budget is tied up in salaries, meaning faculty cuts must be made.
"Ultimately, we have to make some very difficult and painful decisions," Hodge said. "And inevitably that means some positions will be eliminated."
Provost Jeffrey Herbst does not anticipate that a reduction of faculty will cause a significant or noticeable change in class size. Hodge added that if every faculty member taught one additional class once every four years, there would be no change at all to the current average class size.
According to Hodge, the university is allowing departments all over the university to self-evaluate and come up with individual ways to respond to the crisis.
"A lot of the heavy lifting is being done by directors through the university," Hodge said. "We've tried to not micromanage from the top, but allow our good people to do what they're supposed to do, which is figure out how this all fits into the big picture."
David Creamer, vice president of financial and business services, said he thinks departments are good stewards of their funding, but said he is still watching to ensure it is being spent appropriately.
"Everything is getting an extra review," Creamer said, "but we're trying to make sure that the most essential things get through."
Viewing Comments 1 - 9 of 13
Phil
posted 10/31/08 @ 7:20 AM EST
The only "heavy lifting" going on here at Miami is when Hodge and the trustees pick up their fat paychecks. And lets not forget that Mrs. Hodge is also on the payroll for some reason. (Continued…)
xuan
posted 10/31/08 @ 8:17 AM EST
Confucius Institute say solution obvious for reckless university spending: Jack up foreign tuition and schedule cargo ships to Beijing.
lackwe
Bill
posted 10/31/08 @ 8:23 AM EST
It amazes me to see the administration talk about money woes when they continue to waste money needlessly. How about the loading dock at Pearson that had been done for the Psychology building construction and was redone simply for esthetic value? How about the entrance to Pearson that was ripped out to "blend it" into the Engineering Building?
How many hundreds of thousands of dollars were wasted on these two projects?
Stanley
posted 10/31/08 @ 10:25 AM EST
Ludacris. In case anyone was foggy on where Hodge's priorities lie, here it is. Education - Who Cares?! Shiny new buildings - Hooray.
We need to take a step back and reexamine our priorities. (Continued…)
Mark
posted 11/01/08 @ 6:06 PM EST
What cuts would be need to be made if the new student center is postponed?
Kristie
posted 11/03/08 @ 1:00 PM EST
Wow--what a looming disaster! Miami is putting money into high-def cable tv and game rooms for the dorms. It's spending money on a building spree like a university that has a 4 billion dollar endowment rather than a 400 million dollar endowment. (Continued…)
an interesting fact
posted 11/03/08 @ 2:07 PM EST
It is important to note that Miami's operating budget was in the black last year until operations money (around $15 million) had to be tranferred to a facilities line to pay for the engineering school when a donor backed out. (Continued…)
Bells
posted 11/03/08 @ 10:27 PM EST
I wonder just how much it cost to have the bell tower programmed play
Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On...
A few of John Lennon's greatest hits.. (Continued…)
Interesting Fact 2
posted 11/04/08 @ 11:10 AM EST
Former "President" and social wimp Jimmy Garland is still being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in retirement as a "fundraiser" while Miami cuts staff. (Continued…)
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