Whitlock on the Budget

To the Campus Community,

Earlier this morning, House and Senate budget conferences concluded a night long session in which they reached agreement on state appropriations for the coming 2008-2010 biennium. The result of their efforts is that our state appropriation will be reduced by only an additional three percent.

You will recall that the budget, as originally proposed, would have cut our funding by an additional 12 percent. We are, therefore, grateful to the high priority that the members of both houses of the legislature gave to higher education in their budget deliberations. Given the revenue constraints which they faced, sparing higher education all but a three percent reduction is a major achievement.

We have been preparing for the worst case scenario of 12 percent since January. Our efforts have positioned us to implement the additional three percent strategically, as well as make internal reallocations of resources that will be necessary to continue the university’s forward progress. Over the coming days, we will be having conversations on campus addressing the subject of tuition for the coming year. We will be cognizant of our students’ ability to pay and will resist the temptation to place the burden of the budget cut on their backs.

As I told the group of faculty and staff at last week’s Fireside Chat, I have been gratified, but not surprised, with the spirit our campus community has shown in the face of the impact of the state’s current financial problems on Eastern. It has been what my experience here has taught me to expect, but it has been welcome, none the less.

There’s nothing in this situation that we cannot manage and still maintain the vitality of this University.

Doug Whitlock
President

SOURCE: EKU Campus-wide email.