FY09 Budget Update

Dear Colleagues,

With looming state budget cuts getting more and more attention, I wanted to take a moment to apprise you of the situation, because I feel it is important for you to know what I know.

I have led several recent and ongoing meetings with our vice presidents to review the state and university budgets. In these meetings, we have discussed and debated several scenarios and endeavored to determine the most effective ways to support our faculty, staff and students, along with our strategic goals, while anticipating the mandated cuts.

Our budget reduction plan is due in Richmond by the end of the month and is still a work in progress.  The goals are to protect the core mission of the University and to minimize any impact to serving our students.  (There are no immediate plans for a midyear tuition increase.)  Since enrollment is up nearly 7 percent this fall, some of the tuition revenue generated by this increase will be used to offset the impact of forthcoming reductions.

Regretfully, I cannot provide you any more insight than you already have gained from the media, but I have met and had deliberations with a number of legislators, cabinet members and state leaders.  At this point, they do not yet have all the information about the economy they require to make informed decisions about how much the cuts will be or when they will arrive. I expect to learn more in the coming weeks and look forward to sharing additional information with you then.

In the meantime, I encourage you to write, call or e-mail your legislators and our governor to be sure that your voice is heard in Richmond.  Virginia's universities have been asked to grow, to accommodate more transfer students and more first-generation students. We are doing so, with a record-setting student population of more than 23,000. We were also asked to limit tuition increases and we have done so.  While we realize all state agencies will be affected by the next round of cuts, it is important to point out that investing in higher education is an investment in our economy - in Virginians.  It is our hope that our state leadership will recognize the contributions we have made and seriously consider them when deciding our rate of participation.

Finally, I have always been an advocate for free-flowing, two-way communication and urge you to contact your department's leadership, or me, with not only your concerns, but also your suggestions for addressing the impending cuts. I am confident that the university's resourceful, innovative faculty and staff will be able to devise a strategic plan to address these cuts without significant setback to this great institution.

Sincerely yours,

John R. Broderick
Acting President