President’s budget update

The following message was sent from President Mark B. Rosenberg to the university community on April 24, 2010:

Dear members of the university community:

We are quickly approaching the end of the current legislative session, and considering the general economic climate, we are feeling positive about our 2010-2011 budget.

While decisions will not be final for some time yet, indications are that universities will sustain a 1.5 percent cut in state appropriations. For FIU this means that our recurring state appropriations may be reduced by approximately $3.3 million.

As we discussed at our last Budget Forum, the portion of FIU’s budget that comes from the state has been in a severe decline over the past three years. Therefore, any further decline should concern us all. But considering that early estimates put the reduction anywhere between 1 and 7 percent, a 1.5 percent cut should be seen as a positive outcome.

The cut will be offset somewhat by increased tuition, increased financial aid funds (to make up for changes in Bright Futures eligibility) and $10 million in New Florida money to be shared by all 11 institutions. We believe the Wertheim College of Medicine will receive the funding we need to fulfill our accreditation commitments.

It is clear that our legislators are acting on the conviction that our public universities are in fact the key to meaningful, long-lasting and widespread economic recovery for our state. We are appreciative of our delegation’s support during this very tough session and thank all of our legislators for exercising leadership and bringing vision to the process.

Our Governmental Relations team will continue to work with lawmakers during the remaining week of the session, which includes the all-important conference process between House and Senate. We are finalizing important details such as PECO funding and staying attentive to other issues that could impact us, such as the proposed 3 percent salary cut for state employees.

I will host another Budget Forum at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, May 18, 2010. Please mark your calendar and plan to participate.

Once the budget is passed in Tallahassee, we will bring our budget proposals to our own Board of Trustees. That meeting is scheduled for June 4, 2010.

I would like to thank you for your support and involvement in this process, which is absolutely central to the future of our institution. Thank you for your ideas and your interest.

I look forward to seeing many of you at Commencement next week, when we will award more than 4,300 new FIU degrees. I draw much energy from this event, and I sincerely hope you do too. This year for the first time, we have selected a number of  Worlds Ahead Graduates to recognize during the ceremonies. They inspire and remind us why we are here and how fortunate we are to have such meaningful work.

Mark B. Rosenberg
President