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Possible impacts of the governor’s budget proposal

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Dear Members of the University Community:

Yesterday, Governor Gregoire released a 2010 supplemental budget proposal that addresses an additional $2.6 billion projected shortfall for the 2009-11 biennial state budget (see my Nov. 19 message to the University community). By law, the governor is required to submit a balanced budget based on current state tax revenue.

The proposed budget is by any measure a train wreck for the state, and without additional revenue would surely result in very negative consequences for many people, including students and the higher education institutions they attend. As Governor Gregoire said yesterday, she does not support this budget proposal and believes the state must consider ways to generate additional revenue to fill the gap. Continue reading “Possible impacts of the governor’s budget proposal”

Statement regarding the governor’s supplemental budget proposal

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Like all who rely on state funding to serve the needs of our citizens, we are deeply concerned about the impacts of the governor’s supplemental budget proposal on our state and, most importantly, our students. Just when you think things can’t get worse, they do.

Losing half of our state’s nationally-recognized need-grant program will shut out thousands of our state’s finest students from a chance at a college degree and a better future.

Without the state need-grant program, Husky Promise scholarships would be severely curtailed, and the 7,000 students who are able to attend the UW because of these scholarships would be unable to continue. Higher education would become a luxury only the well-to-do could afford.

The further erosion of state support for the UW will make it even harder for us to meet the educational needs of our students. No one—the governor, the Legislature or the University—can control the economy. But we also cannot afford to decimate critical programs and opportunities for our state’s students.

Even during a long, hard winter you can’t eat your seed corn. It is time for the Legislature and the governor to look for additional revenue sources to help moderate these unacceptable impacts on our state’s citizens.

Addressing the Latest State Revenue Shortfall

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Dear Members of the University of Washington Community:

The condition of the Washington economy and the revenue it generates in state taxes continue to concern everyone watching the state budget. All of us at the University are still dealing with the aftermath of the 2009 legislative session and the budget cuts resulting from a historically large revenue shortfall. The most recent revenue forecast from Olympia unfortunately reflects a continuing downward spiral in state tax revenues and an even larger budget hole the state will need to address in the 2010 session. Though the nation’s economy in recent months has shown welcome signs of recovery in various sectors, unemployment continues to be a nagging problem. And with our state’s heavy reliance on the sales tax, people’s confidence level and willingness to make purchases directly affect the condition of the state budget. The turnaround in state tax revenues we have all been hoping for has yet to materialize. Continue reading “Addressing the Latest State Revenue Shortfall”

Novel H1N1 Influenza Virus Preparations

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Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff:

As we approach the start of the new academic year, we are beginning to experience a resurgence of the novel H1N1 influenza virus, much as was expected. As has been reported in the news, colleges and universities across the country have had outbreaks of the virus as classes began. While the virus appears to be easily transmitted from person to person, the good news is that it also seems to be relatively mild as an influenza illness and most people not in high-risk populations recover fully within a week.

The University’s Advisory Committee on Communicable Diseases (ACCD), chaired by Vice President for Student Life Eric Godfrey, has been monitoring information related to the H1N1 influenza since last spring and preparing for its arrival at the University this fall. From everything we know at this point, we can expect a substantial fraction of our community to become ill with H1N1 influenza. A vaccine against H1N1 is expected to be widely available by mid-October, and when it is, we are planning for a mass inoculation program to get it to people as quickly as possible.

Continue reading “Novel H1N1 Influenza Virus Preparations”

Latest state revenue forecast

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Dear Members of the University of Washington Community:

The news today from Olympia about the further decline in state revenues is another sign that the economic recovery will be difficult and slow. While today’s revenue forecast will not mean further cuts at this time — a scenario hard to imagine, given what we are going through — we do need to be mindful that the economic situation has yet to stabilize and we need to act accordingly. The next revenue forecast will come in September, and we hope that will show more encouraging signs that an economic recovery is taking hold.

In the meantime, we are about to start the new biennium, and the economic environment in which we do so is very fragile. We have worked hard over the past few months to do everything we could to protect core instructional activities and programs, and we remain committed to maintaining the highest possible quality instructional programs for our students. Governor Gregoire has asked state agencies to continue to conserve spending. I am urging the deans and chancellors, vice presidents, and others as we start the new biennium to keep the current economic climate clearly in view and to proceed cautiously and prudently in committing resources as we await the next revenue forecast in September.

The continued decline in state revenues underscores the importance of the University continuing to look for ways to increase efficiencies and creatively seek opportunities to cultivate new sources of revenue, a subject we will all be discussing and engaging more intensively in the weeks and months ahead.

Your ideas for saving money and finding efficiencies

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Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students:

Over the last several months, people from across our campuses have submitted many valuable cost-saving suggestions to help our University weather the economic downturn. I am deeply appreciative of all those who have taken the time to share their thoughts and ideas. I write now to update you on the actions we have taken in response to these thoughtful suggestions.

I received many suggestions related to energy savings, ranging from turning off unneeded lights to converting campus buildings into energy sources by adding solar or green rooftops. All of these ideas are now with our Finance and Facilities offices undergoing feasibility study and cost-benefit analysis. Those that we can implement — in addition to our already robust energy savings program — we will. Not only will we save money, we will help the planet.

Continue reading “Your ideas for saving money and finding efficiencies”

The 2009-11 state budget for the UW

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Dear students, faculty and staff:

Over the weekend, the Legislature completed the unenviable task of writing and passing a biennial budget during the worst economic period in decades. Any budget that must bridge a biennial shortfall of $9 billion is bound to please no one and to result in serious consequences for the state.

For the University of Washington, the resulting budget decisions are dramatic. The bad news is that the Legislature decided to reduce state funding to the six public four-year college and universities more than any other sector in state government. The University of Washington received the highest percentage cut in all of higher education-26 percent. This is a stark and sobering number.

Continue reading “The 2009-11 state budget for the UW”

The state budget and UW tuition

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Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

By now most of you have heard about the potential need to increase tuition because of the severe cuts in our state support. I am writing to clarify why this may need to happen and to explain the potential impacts.

Nobody, certainly not me, likes to raise tuition. We support a significant increase only because of the extraordinary circumstances in which we find ourselves. The proposed cuts to higher education in our state are enormous, ranging from 23 percent in the Senate’s proposal to 31 percent in the House’s. Reductions of this magnitude would eliminate 10,000 student openings across higher education in the state, while at the same time significantly increasing the time it takes for students to receive their degrees. Instead of graduating on time, students would have to stay—and pay tuition for—an extra quarter or two to get the classes they need to graduate. Moreover, without some partial relief, these cuts would greatly diminish the quality of the educational experience at the UW. There would be larger classes, fewer courses offered, and fewer support services available to students, including advising.

Continue reading “The state budget and UW tuition”