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Dear members of the university community:
As of this past weekend, the Florida House of Representatives and the Senate have agreed on terms for funding universities. For us this means a cut in the 14 to 15 percent range, rather than the 24 percent or more range we discussed last week. While the universities clearly will sustain substantial cuts, the measures we take in response will not have to be as draconian as we feared earlier. Despite offsets from a tuition increase and one-time federal stimulus funds, we will still have a significant shortfall in state support and have to take cuts beyond those anticipated when we developled our three-year budget reduction plan last year.
We have also received good news regarding our College of Medicine. The budget conference has agreed to fully fund FIU’s request based on the the plans we shared with the accrediting agency. This funding insures the COM will open its dorrs this fall.
It is clear that our university community, including our alumni through their direct involvement, helped reinforce the message my fellow university presidents and I delivered last week at a press conference in the Capitol. We said, in no uncertain terms, that a 24 percent cut would cripple the university system and by extension our ability to move Florida forward in the modern economy. I went as far as to say that such a cut would be Armageddon for higher education in Florida.
While it looks we will avoid the worst-case scenario in terms of cuts, we must still prepare to execute budget stabilization plans that include possible layoffs and program closures. You may recall that the three-year plan we adopted last year called for a seven percent cut this year. Our actual cut is likely to be double (The 15 percent reduction we will take in our 2009-10 budget is in addition to the ten percent cut we received in 2008-09.) what our plan called for. The continued deterioration of the economy in general and diminished revenues to the state of Florida in particular have led to these consecutive unprecedented reductions in the FIU recurring state budget. The Federal stimulus funds, while certainly helpful in lessening the immediate impact of long term budget reductions, cannot be counted on for recurring expenses. Our new tuition revenue is not sufficient to close our funding shortfall.
This sobering budget cycle presents us with the opportunity to make the case – once and for all – that higher education is the key to a diverse and competitive Florida economy of the future. Clearly, as a state we cannot continue to rely on traditional industries such as agriculture and tourism. We must diversify and the only way to do that is to embrace the knowledge economy and provide our citizens the opportunities to get a quality education right here in our own state.
Our legislators understand that higher education cannot be viewed as an expense or a drain on the budget, but rather as an investment in our future. Universities are economic engines that must be preserved, maintained and upgraded so that they can continue to produce the best possible outputs: graduates, research, innovation, entrepreneurship, and jobs.
This shift in attitude does not occur overnight, of course. It is through the tireless work of our Governmental Relations team, the involvement of members of our Board of Trustees, Board of Directors and President’s Council, together with our alumni, students and faculty, that our message is starting to resonate with the Legislature. FIU is not alone in this. The other SUS institutions concur with our view on this matter and are working with their elected officials to achieve similar results.
Town Hall Meeting
As it stands currently, the budget should be passed by both houses on Friday, May 8th. We would expect that Gov. Charlie Crist would act upon the budget in the following two to three weeks.
Our Town Hall meeting originally scheduled for this week was rescheduled, given delays in Tallahassee. The next Town Hall meeting is now scheduled for Monday, May 18 at 10 a.m. in the Graham Center Ballrooms, University Park. As in the past, the meeting will be broadcast live to Biscayne Bay Campus, where members of the community will be able to participate from the Wolfe University Center Ballrooms. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend. We will be having an important discussion about the future of our institution.
Upcoming dates that are key to FIU’s budget process include:
- Legislative session ends: May 8, 2009
- Town Hall meeting: May 18, 2009, 10 a.m.
- Special meeting of Faculty Senate: May 26
- Recommendations due from Faculty Senate: May 26
- Final reduction plans due for all university units: May 29
- Board of Trustees Budget Workshop: June 1
- Board of Trustees meeting: June 12
As always, I thank everyone who is keeping abreast of this budget process. We want you to be informed because we need your participation and input. Please continue to share your thoughts at meetings, informal gatherings or by sending me an email message at presmail@fiu.edu
Modesto A. Maidique
President
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