Aug. 4, 2020

Colleagues,

As you are aware, the University has imposed a 7.5% budget cut for the 2020-21 academic year to account for the financial hardship of the pandemic. For the College of Education, this means a $1.1 million decrease in our budget for the upcoming year. While understandable, these cuts pose challenges for the College as we must maintain our academic and research mission.

Informed by two working groups made up of faculty and staff across departments and the College leadership team, the College is implementing the following measures to meet the 7.5% cut to centrally allocated funds (from state dollars, tuition and fees):

• 35% reduction of the College’s anticipated adjunct faculty budget
• 58% reduction of the College’s total maintenance and operation expenses (e.g. professional development, travel, supplies, etc.)
• Not replacing three open staff positions, one each in the Business Office, PHLS and ELPS
  (PHLS and ELPS will share a position)
• Reduction of the number of part-time student workers in the CITE Lab
• Reduction in Force (RIF) of two full-time employees in the Undergraduate Office

The College also will see a decrease in our reserves for one-time expenses, with the University sweeping a portion of unspent funds from the current fiscal year to cover the loss of revenue from spring 2020.

In the near term, I anticipate no additional cuts, though the state’s economy and the ongoing pandemic make predicting difficult. I invite you to join me and Paul Roch to learn about the budget allocations for 2020-21 during a virtual town hall on Friday, Aug. 7 at 11 a.m. (see Outlook invite).

I understand these are stressful times, professionally and personally. Please know that the College leadership team and I appreciate you and your admirable work. I am happy to report that student enrollment is up more than 5% from this time last year, a testament to the importance of our mission to end inequities in education and health.

The duration of the pandemic has been difficult for us all. The COE family has weathered several natural disasters in recent years, only to rebound with a stronger resolve to serve our students and the community. Let us continue to stand strong together and support each other.

Onward,

Dean Bob McPherson
UH College of Education