Let's save for the University

wudude
Fri, 24 Apr 2009 09:45:00 +0000

Actually, I listened to his whole address live yesterday and he was very good at explaining the deficit and how it is requiring them to reduce expenses. The amount of money they can spend for the operating budget from the endowment has been set by the Board of Trustees based on a moving five year average of the endowment. That number is something over which Chancellor Wrighton and the administration in Brookings Hall has no control. He is given a set amount of money by the Board and that is what he must use to run the university. And unfortunately that amount of money is going to go down so everyone must figure out how to deal with the situation. In answering one of the questions, Chancellor Wrighton suggested that most job “eliminations” have primarily been due to projects or grants that have ended, or people leaving positions that then are not refilled if they are not deemed essential. He stressed how they have tried not to eliminate necessary staffing and how the belt tightening is more difficult on the Danforth Campus. Personally I am not ecstatic having my salary frozen for next year, but if that helps save the jobs of myself and others on campus it is something I believe most of us are willing to endure. Hopefully for the following year we may get some increase, but I will not be holding my breath. But with my D starting here as a freshman next fall, it is not like I am going anywhere!