The University of Kansas
An Official Employee Publication From the Office of University Relations
Difficulties should not diminish KU spirit
Monday Message
I want to share what the university must do to solve its budget problems for fiscal year 2001, which ends June 30.
Our problem arises primarily from increased utility costs. We have dramatically cut back on utility expenses by lowering thermostats and taking other conservation measures. You have been very understanding of these steps, and they have significantly reduced our costs.
However, the price of natural gas has doubled, and it has been a very cold
Robert E. Hemenway
winter. As a result, our utilities bill has increased more than $1 million on the Lawrence campus and $400,000 at the Medical Center. When added to the costs of implementing the changes in the classified system, the total budget shortfall for this year is $1.15 million on the Lawrence campus and $364,000 on the Medical Center campus.
We cannot escape these bills. They must be paid if we are to continue providing electricity and heat. Thus, Provost David Shulenburger has asked deans in Lawrence to cut their budgets and Executive Vice Chancellor Donald Hagen has done the same thing at the Medical Center.
You will begin to see the effects of these cuts immediately. Expenses will be curtailed, positions will not be filled, equipment will not be purchased and we will all be inconvenienced.
We will also ask you to work with your colleagues to think of creative ways to save money. Frequently, you are the person who knows best how to reduce expenses.
I don’t want to minimize the difficulty of doing any of this. We will first target cuts in administrative costs. Still, in some cases you will find yourself having to do your job as well as someone else’s because we cannot fill a vacant position.
At other times we will have to defer maintenance of equipment, even though we know such maintenance is necessary. Students should expect longer lines and fewer services. Faculty will end up having to do tasks normally done by staff.
Nonetheless, the University of Kansas is a strong and proud institution. It has a dedicated staff and faculty. Its students are the most loyal in the state. A budget cut of $1.15 million in Lawrence, and $364,000 at the Medical Center, will not bring the university to its knees.
We will find a way to pay our bills and maintain our mission as a teaching and research university with a national reputation for excellence. I ask for your help in accomplishing this goal. I guess what I really ask for is Jayhawk pride to see us through this difficult time. Our difficulties should not diminish our spirit or our aspirations. Good universities survive such setbacks.
— excerpts from Feb. 19, 2001