A&M freezes most hiring, travel

Harry · January 28, 2003

Jan. 27, 2003, 10:47PM

Other state schools also likely to cut costs to help ease deficit

By RON NISSIMOV

Responding to Gov. Rick Perry's request that state agencies immediately cut their budgets by 7 percent, Texas A&M University President Robert Gates on Monday announced a hiring freeze for staff positions and a freeze on travel with state funds.

The hiring freeze would affect the university's 6,000 maintenance and administrative positions but not the 2,400 faculty slots, said A&M spokesman Lane Stephenson.

Other public universities also are likely to take cost-cutting measures soon to address the state's estimated $9.9 billion budget deficit.

University of Texas President Larry Faulkner sent a two-page e-mail to faculty and staff members Monday saying the university's financial outlook "is serious and will require a significant contraction in the scale of our programs."

Faulkner did not specify what reductions might be made, saying UT officials will develop a plan over the next two months.

University of Houston spokesman Mike Cinelli said officials are exploring ways to cut the university's budget, but he did not know when decisions would be made.

"We are currently engaged in a careful, thoughtful and thorough review of all operations," Cinelli said. "At this time, we are not ready to announce anything."

After many years of booming endowments and increased funding resulting from the surging stock markets of the 1990s, the ongoing economic slowdown has caused many public and private universities to experience budget problems.

For example, Rice University announced a non-faculty hiring freeze in November that is scheduled to last until at least April. The university's endowment fell from a record of $3.37 billion in June 2000 to $2.75 billion last November.

Texas universities have enjoyed double-digit percentage increases in state funding in recent years, but that is expected to change this year with the deficit.

Gates sent a two-paragraph announcement to faculty and staff members.

Stephenson said it is not known how much money A&M would save. Gates made other cost-cutting suggestions that will be forwarded to a newly formed finance council for review, according to an A&M press release. The council consists of administrators and faculty members.

Stephenson said he did not know what the suggestions are. Gates was not available for comment.

A&M, the state's third-largest university, with 44,000 students, has a budget of $808 million for fiscal year 2003, with $263 million coming from state funds.

Faulkner said in his letter that the Austin campus likely will have to cut $25 million to $30 million from its $265 million state funding pool affected by Perry's call for budget cuts. UT, the nation's largest campus, with 52,000 students, has a 2003 budget of $1.4 billion. It will receive $119 million this year from the state's Permanent University Fund, an amount that will not be affected by budget cuts.

Gates has said that improving the faculty at A&M is one of his top priorities, adding that higher salaries would help achieve that goal. He said A&M faculty members are paid an average of $10,000 less a year than professors at competing Texas institutions.

A&M business professor Bob Strawser, chair of the faculty senate, said he believes Gates will do his best to not cut faculty salaries or pay raises.

"My own feeling is that Bob Gates has repeatedly said he is committed to improving the faculty, and I'm confident he will look elsewhere to make cuts if he can," Strawser said.

In his memo, Faulkner said many faculty members are wondering if he will freeze salaries and raises. He said UT is committed to increasing faculty salaries to compete with peer institutions but it will not be able to continue giving raises at the same rates as it has in recent years.

"The only guideline that I suggest now is that we should try, above all, to best preserve the most critical things that we provide for the people of Texas," Faulkner wrote. "To me, that means especially preserving the quality of the educational environment. A consequence is that we must expect to reduce the scale of what we do."

Faulkner said making cuts "will not be pleasant" but added that "the university's future will depend on how well we manage the time ahead just as much as on how well we manage better times."

Officials at A&M and UT claimed last year that they have been underfunded for decades because the state has funneled an increasing amount of money to other public universities. State legislators have done this to try to address historical inequities that benefited the UT and A&M systems, which under the state constitution are the only systems receiving annual payouts from the state's multibillion dollar Permanent University Fund.

UT and A&M officials say the two flagship institutions need substantial funding increases to compete with flagship institutions in other states. A&M regents last year approved the largest student fee increases in the history of the College Station campus, totalling $380 per year. UT regents also approved the largest student fee increases in the history of the Austin campus, which would have reached $430 per semester in six years. But the increases were rescinded after Attorney General John Cornyn doubted their constitutionality.

UH design professor Angi Patton, a frequent critic of the administration of President Arthur Smith, said the budget crisis makes the university's $10.8 million athletic department deficit "all the more obscene."

Cinelli said all departments are being reviewed for possible cuts.

redallover · January 28, 2003

1. A&M will complain that they were called the state's third largest university.

2. Athletics departments are going to be under fire at schools that run a deficit.

3. Did you notice that the PUF money to UT/A&M won't drop at all? Therefore, any funding decreases will be particularly felt at the state's other universities...again.

UNTFan23 · January 28, 2003

State legislators have done this to try to address historical inequities that benefited the UT and A&M systems, which under the state constitution are the only systems receiving annual payouts from the state's multibillion dollar Permanent University Fund.

1.) Why is this in the state constitution?! It doesn't need to be. However, since it is, it would take a miracle to have it removed or changed.

2.) This needs to change. UNT and Tech both need the funds, and uT and aTm aren't hurting as much as many think.

The uT system is facing a minimum 100 million dollar cut, where as UNT is only 7% of that.