Budget Reduction Information
Overview from Dean Bernardo
After months of planning and discussing and developing scenarios, we finally are able to share with you details of our proposal to address the recent budget reductions approved by the Washington Legislature.
This is by far the biggest reduction the university has experienced in its history; it is impossible to implement it without dramatic impact on our ability to serve our students and the people of Washington and beyond. Having said that, we are managing the reductions as quickly, responsibly and strategically as possible.
Based on the higher education budget approved by the state legislature, the university is planning for a net cut of 10.4 percent for the biennium, including a 14 percent tuition increase each of the next two years and $15.8 million in one-time stimulus money for the first half of the biennium.
CAHNRS’ portion of that is $2.65 million or 7.4 percent, not including WSU Extension. Of that, we are proposing taking $550,620 from Academic Programs and $2.1 million from the Agricultural Research Center. WSU Extension is planning for a $3.14 million or 20.1 percent reduction.
Because the majority of our budgets is spent on people, there is no way to plan for this kind of reduction without directly impacting individuals. In CAHNRS, we are planning to eliminate 74 positions, 40 of which are currently occupied. In WSU Extension, 57 positions will be eliminated, 42 of which are currently occupied. Understanding the anxiety associated with this kind of news, we have worked hard to communicate with anyone directly impacted as early as possible, certainly before any public announcement.
In CAHNRS, we are proposing eliminating the Department of Community and Rural Sociology and the IMPACT Center. In addition, the Department of Statistics will move to the WSU Department of Math in the College of Sciences and the university is evaluating a proposal to merge the Department of Natural Resource Sciences, and perhaps portions of other units, into a new School of Earth, Environment and Society.
In WSU Extension, the largest single reduction proposed is closure of all nine learning centers. We also are planning major reductions in Extension administration, including reconfiguring our leadership and organizational structure, and merging Extension and university video and broadcast services with the Murrow College of Communication.
The next month will be one of review and feedback on the budget reduction proposals. President Floyd and Provost Bayly will hold an open budget forum at noon, Monday, May 4. They also will be working with the WSU Faculty Senate on May 7 and May 12. Decisions will be finalized June 1 and implemented in the budget July 1, 2009.
None of these are easy decisions. Making our future as successful as possible will mean working differently and smarter to accomplish our strategic goals and initiatives. Now more than ever, we will need to identify and focus on what’s urgent and essential, set our priorities and let go of some things that are not critical to our success.
I want to thank you for your patience and support and input over the past several months, especially members of the college’s Budget Advisory Committee, associate deans, department chairs, directors, members of the WSU Extension Administrative Team, our Marketing and News Services team and the CAHNRS/WSU Extension Business and Finance Office. We have worked to be as open and inclusive as we could be given the circumstances, and we have benefitted from your feedback.
Best regards,
Dan Bernardo
Dean Bernardo's Previous Communications about the Budget Reduction
March 27, 2009
Dear Colleagues:
I’m sure President Floyd’s announcement Monday about the reintegration of WSU Extension into the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS) was unexpected, but I want to keep you informed about what already has happened since then.
I had the opportunity to visit with members of the WSU Extension Administrative Team during their regular meeting on Wednesday afternoon. It was an open and productive conversation; their questions, I’m sure, reflect many of the same concerns you may have about how we’ll proceed in the coming weeks.
First of all, I want to reaffirm Linda Kirk Fox’s leadership of WSU Extension. Linda and I have worked cooperatively for nearly four years managing the integrated programs of CAHNRS and WSU Extension. I have 100 percent confidence in her leadership, and her roles and responsibilities in the day-to-day management of WSU Extension will remain unchanged.
I also want to assure you that we will take a steady, methodical approach to accomplishing the integration of the two organizations. Our goal is to have the necessary organization changes required to accomplish this objective in place by July 1. These changes will be identified and implemented with the help of a small transition team comprised of faculty and staff from both Extension and CAHNRS.
Obviously, the current budget environment and the integration of Extension and CAHNRS call for something other than business as usual. President Floyd outlined at least five clear directives in his remarks to the All-Extension Symposium earlier this month:
- Better integrating Extension programs throughout the institution;
- Focusing on the delivery of the university’s research base (e.g., best practices, technologies, and innovations);
- Enhancing Extension programs to the state’s agricultural industry;
- Leveraging cutting-edge technology to enhance program delivery; and
- Exploring new structures and methods for local program delivery.
It is important to understand that focusing on a strong, traditional, land-grant role for Extension does not mean a return to the 1950s or a “cows-and-plows” model. CAHNRS’ program portfolio is very broad, and the college has standing partnerships with every college within WSU. Even what many may consider the most traditional programs – those in agriculture – are different today, centering around the development and delivery of some of the most advanced science and technology at WSU. Strengthening ties between research and extension will allow us to make our research more relevant, as well as provide more contemporary educational programs and new technologies to our stakeholders sooner.
It also is important to understand that not all of the change will occur on the Extension side of the house. We will be working closely with the academic departments of the college to ensure they are fully integrating the Extension mission into their programs as well.
In the context of the financial crisis in which we find ourselves, the integration announcement allows us to incorporate this objective it into our budget planning. Because of the integrated nature of our programs, Linda Fox and I have worked hand-in-glove in developing scenarios for addressing budget reductions. Once we receive final numbers from the Washington Legislature, we can begin communicating more specifically with all of you.
Thank you in advance for your patience and support.
Sincerely,
Dan Bernardo
Feb. 24, 2009 - Recent news concerning the state’s budget situation, and its impact on WSU, has not been encouraging. Several developments transpired last week, including a new preliminary state budget forecast, legislative testimony by WSU administrators, and the expected rumors and responses both within and outside WSU. Hopefully, this update will reduce some of the confusion and fill in some of the existing information gaps. Read more »
Feb. 4, 2009 - As you may know, the Washington State Senate requested that WSU provide an estimate of the impacts of a 12 and 18 percent budget reduction to the university’s 2009-11 biennial budget. Last Friday, every college turned in their scenarios of how they would meet 12 and 20 percent budget reductions. Non-academic units completed the same exercise. President Floyd and Provost Bayly are reviewing those proposals and will use them to develop the university’s response to the legislature. That response, which will be an aggregated rather than itemized list of impacts, is due this Thursday, Feb. 5. Read more »
Jan. 26, 2009 - As I am certain you are aware, more important budget news that could have significant implications for WSU and CAHNRS in the next biennium came out of the Legislature in Olympia late last week. In the interest of communicating as clearly and consistently as possible about how CAHNRS will approach the budget challenges ahead, I provide the following update. Read more »
Dec. 29, 2008 - Recent weeks have been filled with important budget news for the state, WSU, and CAHNRS. As I noted in my message to CAHNRS faculty and staff just before Thanksgiving, I will communicate as clearly and consistently as possible about how we as a college will approach the budget challenges ahead. Given recent news, it's a good time for an update. Read more »
Dec. 3, 2008 - You’ve seen the headlines and the messages from President Floyd and our state officials. We find ourselves in one of the most difficult economic situations in our country’s history; in Washington State, we face an estimated $6 billion hole in the state budget for the next biennium. As an economist, I can tell you that the current economic situation is unlike anything I, or most of us, have experienced during our years in higher education. Read more »
Previous Communications from Dean Bernardo and Associate Dean Fox about the Budget Reduction
April 28, 2009
Dear Colleagues,
As President Floyd has outlined in recent emails, the university will release details of its plan to handle budget reductions for the coming biennium on Friday late morning or early afternoon.
You are invited to attend an information session in FSHN Building T101 at 2 p.m., Friday, May 1. We will outline the budget reduction proposals for both CAHNRS and WSU Extension and the reasoning behind them. For those wishing to view the session via videostream please visit the following link http://eces.wsu.edu/video/stream.html and click on either Real Player or Windows Media.
As we’ve said throughout this long, difficult process, we will try to keep you as well informed as possible. Thank you for your patience and support.
Best regards,
Dan Bernardo
Linda Kirk Fox
March 23, 2009
Dear Colleagues,
This morning, President Floyd announced reorganization at the university level that directly affects you and WSU Extension. Effective immediately, WSU Extension will begin working toward reintegration into the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences. At the same time, John Gardner, currently vice president for economic development and extension, will assume a new role leading the university’s international programs office and economic development initiatives; he will no longer have direct responsibility for WSU Extension.
The context for this reorganization is the budget situation in which we find ourselves. As you well know, the university is preparing to reduce budgets by between 12 and 18 percent. We will know more about specific budget cuts to Extension programs once the Washington Legislature finalizes its budget.
Obviously, a move of this magnitude is not accomplished overnight; there are many, many details to be resolved. We will communicate as quickly and clearly as possible about those as they unfold.
While these days it seems like the only constant is change, it is important to remember the fundamental foundations of our organization. Regardless of organizational structure, WSU Extension will continue to deliver WSU’s research, science and new technology in order to meet the needs of the people of the state. Your work is valued and impactful. We look forward to working through this transition.
Dan Bernardo
Linda Kirk Fox
Previous Communications from Associate Dean Fox about the Budget Reduction
March 27, 2009
DEAR COLLEAGUES: BUDGET UPDATE
What a difference a week can make! While announcement of the reintegration of WSU Extension within the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences came suddenly, we already are working to make the transition happen as smoothly and effectively as possible. If you missed the announcement, here is a recap: On Monday, March 23, Washington State University President Elson S. Floyd announced WSU Extension will begin working toward reintegration into WSU’s College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS). At the same time, John Gardner, currently vice president for Economic Development and Extension, will continue his focus on critical economic development initiatives while assuming leadership of the university’s international programs. With this new organizational structure, he will no longer have direct responsibility for WSU Extension. It was announced Dr. Gardner will assume a new role leading the university’s international programs office as the Vice President for economic development and global engagement. Dr. Linda Kirk Fox will continue to provide leadership for Extension as Associate Dean reporting to CAHNRS Dean Dan Bernardo.
Dan Bernardo spent more than an hour with members of the Extension Administrative Team on Wednesday afternoon here in Pullman, opening with some brief remarks and then fielding questions from the group. It was a good discussion with lots of give and take. I look forward to working with Dean Bernardo and all of you to accomplish the goals President Floyd has outlined for us. Many of them already are in the works; we will need to focus and accelerate our progress, though.
One advantage of the timing of the announcement is that we can incorporate it into our long-term budget planning, especially important in the current economic climate. As I’ve mentioned before, the A Team has worked diligently over these past several months to develop budget scenarios to address the realities of our state budget for the next biennium. Dean Bernardo has been privy to the outcome of those deliberations, as we have been of the CAHNRS’ budget reduction efforts. That collaboration is more important than ever now.
Of course, there will be no announcement of budget reduction scenarios until after the Washington Legislature approves a final budget for WSU. That could occur as soon as early next week. I will keep you posted with as much information as possible as quickly as possible.
December 19, 2008
DEAR COLLEAGUES—BUDGET UPDATE
We have received several pieces of new information about the WSU budget challenges since I wrote last week.
Most importantly, we now have some sense of the scope of our challenge; Gov. Christine Gregoire’s budget proposal, which was released yesterday, calls for a 12 percent, or approximately $31 million, reduction in WSU’s state funds for FY 2010. That may be offset by a proposed 7 percent increase in student tuition; in which case, we are looking at an actual reduction of approximately 8 percent, or approximately $22 million.
Other than knowing it will be a large number, I, as of yet, have no specifics on what portion of the reduction WSU Extension will bear. To date, we have been working on eliminating nearly $600,000 in one-time funds from the FY 2009 budget. But please keep in mind, this latest round will be permanent reductions and may change during the state legislative session, which many are predicting will last well into late spring.
Larry Ganders, WSU’s governmental relations director, has outlined details of the governor’s proposal in his Olympia Updates column, which you can access at http://www.olympia.wsu.edu/News/2009_News_One.aspx. Please note that you can subscribe to these announcements if you’d like to receive them on a regular basis.
In addition, President Floyd has shared his thoughts on the situation in an email you should have received this morning. Bottom line of his remarks? “While everything is on the table – as it must be when attempting to absorb a reduction of this size – we will make every effort to protect student access, to stay true to our academic priorities, and to protect current employees.”
That echoes what the WSU Budget Committee, co-chaired by President Floyd and Executive Vice President Warwick Bayly, outlined as its guiding principles at its first meeting last Friday. The principles include the following:
- Everything is on the table
- Protect people to the extent possible
- Maintain student access without compromising quality
- Emerge from the financial crisis as a stronger institution and as quickly as possible
- Be guided by strategic priorities
- Mission-driven decisions
- Diversify financial resources where possible and increase efficiency and productivity
The committee, comprised of faculty, staff and administrators from throughout WSU, has been charged with assisting in fact-finding and decision-making regarding the budget reductions facing the university for the upcoming biennium. You can read more about the committee and its work at http://budget-committee.wsu.edu/. As a member of the committee, I appreciate any suggestions you have about ways to cut costs or generate more revenue. My email address is lkfox@wsu.edu; my phone number is 509.335.2933.
December 12, 2008
DEAR COLLEAGUES—STATE BUDGET UPDATE
I know the information you’ve received both internally and through the commercial media about the economic downturn and its impact on Washington State University may have many of you wondering or worrying about the future. I am writing today to share the latest information I have about the budget situation specifically for WSU Extension; as I receive new or different information, I will be sure to include it in Extension Update, which is emailed to all Extension employees every Friday.
Fiscal 2009
We learned earlier this week that WSU Extension’s portion of the recently announced university $4.47 million call back for this fiscal year (which ends June 30, 2009) is approximately 1.5 percent or $245,733. This is in addition to the 2.1 percent or $312,000 called back from Extension as part of a $6 million holdback in state funds for WSU that was due Dec. 1. Overall, WSU Extension will eliminate nearly $600,000 in one-time money from the FY09 budget.
Although any reduction in funds has a direct impact on our operations, we have done everything possible to mitigate the impact of these holdbacks. Fortunately, we had anticipated the need to have some funding flexibility and have held open administrative professional and civil service positions as the university directed last spring. The majority of our cut for the 2.1 percent holdback came from those salary savings generated by positions open in departments, centers and the office of the Dean of Extension.
Members of the WSU Extension Administrative Team met in Puyallup Wednesday of this week and agreed to let Associate Dean John Winder, Extension Budget Director Mary Hoffman and I propose a similar approach for the current 1.5 percent cut. We will work to cover that cut with cash reserves and other accruals from throughout the organization. Again, our goal is to minimize the impact on our current operations as much as possible.
Addressing these current fiscal year challenges as quickly as possible also allows us to focus on the larger picture – positioning WSU Extension for a positive future in a time of dramatic, long-term, economic constraint.
The 2010-2011 Biennium
We will know much more about the specifics of the upcoming budget biennium late next week when Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire unveils her budget proposal. It is unlikely, however, to hold any surprises in terms of the immediate economic health of the state during those two years.
President Floyd and Provost Bayly have created and are co-chairs of a university budget advisory committee. I am honored to have been named to that group, which represents a cross-section of our university community. A list of the entire membership is available in the WSU Today online article. The committee will hold its first meeting and receive its formal charge later today, Dec. 12. Again, I will share whatever information I can as soon as I can. I also solicit your feedback about ways to cut costs or generate more revenue. You can send me an email at lkfox@wsu.edu; my phone number is 509.335.2933.
In preparation for whatever comes, the WSU Extension A Team, Associate Dean Winder and I have started a process to look at every tool we have at our disposal to address current and future budget problems. No firm decisions have been made, but our goals at this point are two-fold. We are committed to minimizing impact on all of you, the heart and soul of WSU Extension. We also are committed to coming through the current fiscal difficulty as strongly positioned for a positive future as possible. The work we do is impactful and important and on a forward-thinking trajectory. While it will not be easy, I truly believe we can make the hard decisions we need to make to address the budget problem and still emerge as an organization that is relevant and of value to the people, economy and environment of our great state.
The A Team, Associate Dean Winder and I will meet again in mid-January armed with more specific information about what we face and continue the work we’ve started. There is a lot to consider; none of the decisions we need to make will be easy ones.
As I said earlier, I will provide ongoing updates in this space as new information becomes available. I also encourage county directors and faculty to participate in our regular monthly phone calls as a way to “stay in the loop.”
Links and Related Information
Human Resource Services' Employee Assistance Program
WSU Today's coverage of the budget reduction process
FAQ
Answers to some frequently asked questions.
Budget Reduction Scenarios
WSU Extension Reduction Scenario
Heading using the h3tag
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.