In an e-mail to Minnesota State staff Friday, President Richard Davenport laid out the university's plans for dealing with what he predicted will be a "challenging" spring semester.
"Decisions will be made that will have significant impact on the future of Minnesota State," warned Davenport.
The e-mail follows up a message the president sent out to staff in early December. In that message, dated Dec. 4, Davenport wrote that while university officials were at the time preparing for the possibility of a 3 percent budget reduction, MSU's financial condition remains "very good."
Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Scott Olson sent out an e-mail of his own on Dec. 1, reassuring colleagues there had been no talk about retrenchment or layoffs of probationary faculty by the president's cabinet or the Academic Affairs Council.
Olson closed his message by writing: "I strongly believe that we can sail these treacherous waters as we always have in the past, and that we will arrive at the far shore in stronger shape than when the journey was begun." He did, however, admit some budget reductions would be necessary.
Davenport's e-mail Friday contained more specific information about the budget issues facing MSU and steps he and the university were taking to deal with them. Among the highlights:
• All university-funded out-of-state travel, including student travel, must now be approved by Davenport himself.
• MSU faces an "unallotment" of more than $1.5 million - essentially money from the university's current budget that Gov. Tim Pawlenty is taking back to put toward the state's short-term budget deficit. MSU will need to know how it will manage the unallotment by the middle of February.
• So far, MSU is looking at reductions in its base budget to cover the unallotment instead of utilizing financial reserves. Davenport is hoping to save those reserves for the 2010-2011 fiscal year, when a projected $4.8 billion state shortfall means more cuts are likely to come.
• Davenport has asked university vice presidents to prepare plans for a reduction of six percent and 10 percent in their base budgets.
• The university has been notified by the Minnesota Management and Budget Office that performance increases for Commissioner's Plan and Managerial Plans employees will not be implemented.
In addition, university officials will host five "town hall" meetings on campus to discuss budget-related issues, including one today in Centennial Student Union 253 beginning at 11:30 a.m. The other meetings have been scheduled for Feb. 18, March 26, April 22 and May 14, and will be held in the lower level of the CSU.
In his Dec. 4 e-mail, Davenport promised that the budgeting process at MSU "will continue to be very transparent" and spending would be carefully monitored. On Friday, he tried to strike a positive note.
"I do want us to remember that our university is strong and that we have a creative, dedicated workforce," Davenport wrote. "We can either choose to be negative and sink with the economy, or we can be optimistic and plan for a future that will see Minnesota State emerging somewhat different, but continuing to educate students and produce graduates who see their dreams succeed."
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