FIU leaders outline strategy to deal with budget cuts

The university continues to employ a multi-year planning process that is strategic in nature rather than across the board. As they did last year, leaders are leaving the decisions regarding specific cuts to the deans, in consultation with their units. Final budget cuts will not be announced until June 2009.

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More than 600 members of the FIU community packed the Graham Center Ballrooms at University Park on March 9 for the first in a series of Budget Town Hall meetings organized by university leaders. FIU President Modesto A. Maidique, Provost Ronald Berkman and Chief Financial Officer Vivian Sanchez outlined FIU’s strategy in dealing with state budget cuts and addressed the university’s plan to build FIU’s infrastructure and research program in the face of dwindling state support. The meeting concluded with a Q & A session with those in attendance.

Employees from the Biscayne Bay Campus participated in the Town Hall meeting via live telecast.

Maidique, Berkman and Sanchez stressed that a variety of variables continue to hamper the university’s ability to identify the amount of money that will ultimately need to be cut. Declining state revenues and an uncertainty about how FIU will benefit from the federal stimulus package are two of those variables, according to university leaders. There is no uncertainty among the executive team, however, in setting  a course of action to bring FIU through these turbulent times with the least amount of damage.

“We refuse to look at this crisis in one-year increments. We are looking at it in three-year time frames,” said Sanchez. “We also believe that the plans should be developed by the units, not centrally. That’s a very different philosophy than that of many of our SUS counterparts.”

In the question-and-answer session, it was reiterated that FIU would follow a 10-hour, four-day work week for seven weeks this summer. Last year that schedule saved the university approximately $250,000. With more advance notice this year than last about the plans, leaders are hopeful even more money will be saved this summer. Additionally, the university is hoping to use some federal stimulus dollars to improve the university’s energy efficiency. On a separate note, it was clarified that no decision has been made yet regarding the proposed increase to the technology fee. The university will be hosting technology-fee forums in the near future to allow everyone an opportunity to share their opinion.

The next Town Hall meeting is scheduled for Friday, April 17, 2009.