Dear Colleagues,
The Faculty Senate Executive Committee attended a meeting hosted by President Moulton on
January 26th, 2009. A majority of the Deans and top Administration were also in attendance. The
purpose of the meeting was to review the current financial situation of the USA. President Moulton
provided his interpretation of the impact of the previous cuts in state funding and the recently
announced proration, which resulted in the University receiving approximately $ 29 Million less than the
previous fiscal year. As you are aware the University has responded to this deficit by freezing salaries,
hiring, travel, and large equipment purchases, as well as eliminating university cell phones. In addition,
the University has dipped into the University’s financial reserves to cover some of the current deficits.
Unfortunately, the cost saving measures utilized this year would not be able to absorb another year of
extreme underfunding by the state. Consequently, the University is trying to identify additional cost
saving measures. The administration has researched what other universities are doing. In addition to
the measures mentioned above, some of the other Universities are utilizing one or more of the
following procedures e.g., freezing salaries of faculty, administration and staff, mandating furloughs for
faculty, administration, and staff, raising tuition, increasing class size, or consolidating programs.
Enclosed you will find the Power Point Presentation that President Moulton, utilized during his
presentation. I strongly suggest that you refer to slides 21 and 22. The senate Executive Committee is
working with the University Administration to try to address our financial situation. At this time the
Administration has not made any decision regarding the various possible cost saving measures nor has
the Senate Executive Committee specified or endorsed any specific cost saving measure that have been
utilized by other Universities. That being said, the reality is that USA essentially had a shortfall of
$ 29 Million Dollars, and there is a strong possibility that USA may have another significant financial
shortfall next year. If this is the case, then it is imperative that USA develop additional revenues and
implements cost saving measures that ensure that we protect our academic programs and the security
of faculty, staff, and administration.
Sincerely
John J. Sachs, Chair
Faculty Senate