New details on KU's budget situation

Dear Colleagues,

Like you, I have been closely following the discussions in Topeka regarding the state's budget crisis and how it will impact the University of Kansas.

The Legislature has completed negotiations on the cuts for the current budget year and last week sent those cuts to Governor Sebelius for her consideration. The FY 2009 State General Fund cuts for KU and KUMC in the bill total 4.25 percent, which equals $6.5 million for KU and $5.2 million for KUMC.

Since we had already implemented cuts of 3 percent at both KU and KUMC, the additional 1.25 percent cut for this year requires sacrifice but is manageable.

We'll discuss this recent action and the status of cuts for FY 2010 during a brown-bag legislative forum this Friday, February 20, at noon in Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union. Faculty Senate, Unclassified Senate and University Support Staff Senate are co-sponsoring the forum, and I hope you'll be able to attend.

As we did at the forum in January, we will provide an update on the budget situation and take your questions. We'll also again provide a video feed of the forum online. Details can be found at http://www.chancellor.ku.edu/budgetforum/. You can submit questions to chancellor@ku.edu.

While you're at www.chancellor.ku.edu, you can also submit suggestions for how KU can operate even more efficiently. A week ago we created this online suggestion box and have already received a number of ideas.

I truly appreciate the thought put in to those suggestions and assure you we are considering these ideas and others as we continually strive to uphold our obligation to use tax and tuition dollars wisely.

I also want to share one other piece of budget news. When I arrived at KU, one of the ideas I brought with me was an annual tour of the state by faculty and staff members who would benefit from seeing firsthand the hometowns of Kansas students. Since then, the Wheat State Whirlwind Tour has enabled more than 500 KU employees to learn more about the people, places and traditions that make Kansas so unique.

This is a program that was achieving its goals; however, during a time when we must scrutinize every program, I decided to cancel this year's tour. It will save $27,000.

This is the second time the tour has been canceled due to budget reductions, the last time being 2003. While it is disappointing to take this action again, it also serves as a reminder that great programs can and do return after cuts, just as great universities endure and bounce back after difficult times.

We are in another difficult time, but I am confident that our collective efforts will ensure KU remains a center for learning and discovery.

Sincerely,
Bob Hemenway
Chancellor