IN AN E-MAIL to the University community this week, President John T. Casteen, III discussed the impact of state budget cuts on the University in light of the economic downturn. According to this communiqué, the University will be short over $10 million dollars in state funds from its budget this year. President Casteen emphasized that the University community will remain relatively stable, especially focusing on the fact that the University does not intend to make any layoffs, though salary increases for University employees, faculty and staff will be frozen temporarily. This is fine for a temporary solution, a crisis that we hope will soon pass. But if it were to linger, to turn into a full-fledged depression requiring more massive adjustments to the University budget, what ought to be protected and what is expendable? Commitments to people — students, faculty and staff — ought to be the University’s first priority.
One thing that this might mean is taking special care that the University live within its means. At nearly the same time as the governor’s announcement of budget cuts, the Commission on the Future of the University announced several plans to enhance the national and international status of the University. These proposals, according to their report, will cost the University $20 million over the next three years.
Additionally, in recent weeks the administration has put forth plans for the continued demolition of old and construction of new dorms in the Alderman Road area. It also proposed the construction of a new recreation and exercise facility. This new construction would be added on top of continuing projects, most significantly the South Lawn Project. While these ambitious projects would undoubtedly do much for the reputation of the University in a wider sense, and any new facilities would be popular with students, they should not be undertaken when faced with a potential financial crisis. Leonard Sandridge, executive vice president and chief operating officer, wrote in an e-mail that “we may have to defer other projects and maintenance operations” in light of the current crisis. Instead, the administration ought to be extremely careful with its funds and ought to focus on its prior commitments rather than on ambitious plans for the future.
These immediate commitments, especially those made to students and faculty members, must be the first thing that the University honors. These people are what make the University great and provide its reason for existence. They do more to enhance the reputation of the University than any programs instituted by the Board of Visitors. Thus, the ability to draw and keep top-notch students is essential. Financially, this means being able to guarantee financial aid to those students who have already been promised it. Sandridge also stated that the University would stand by its commitments to AccessUVA in particular. It also means avoiding any major tuition hikes for students, both in and out of state. If the University continues to be seen as a good value, one that remains relatively cheap even in a period of economic chaos, it will continue to attract good students, enhancing its reputation.
The same goes for faculty. While a temporary freeze has been placed on increases in the salaries of faculty members, this is another place where frugality can be ill-afforded. A well-respected faculty is critical to attracting the quality of student the University seeks. It is also important in gaining a good reputation for the University. And to acquire a good faculty, the University needs to make sure it is able to keep salaries competitive with other schools of a high caliber. Thus, while it makes sense to institute a salary freeze in light of a sharp economic downturn, this is not the place to skimp in the long run.
The University staff employees have also been victims of the salary increase freeze, and while this is not as large of an issue in terms of the reputation of the University on a national or international stage, the University must take care to honor its commitments to its employees to the greatest extent possible, or risk its local reputation, which could cause a large amount of tension in Charlottesville between the University and the community.
The sincere hope is that the financial crisis will soon be over, and that an air of stability will return to our country’s economic stage. But if this is not to be, the University needs to look to its coffers. If budget cuts continue, or if the endowment suffers, or if the financial status of the University suffers, the University must take care of its own first. It must honor its commitments to students, faculty and staff before moving on programs to enhance its national and international status, as without the top students, elite faculty and excellent support staff it now boasts, these advances in reputation will be impossible.
Robby Colby’s column appears Thursday in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at r.colby@cavalierdaily.com.
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