Daily Egyptian THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2016
DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM
VOL. 100 ISSUE 62
SINCE 1916
SIU considers massive cuts
SIU President Randy Dunn said SIUC would eliminate hundreds of positions, classes and student positions if budget impasse continues More than 400 classes would be eliminated More than 300 student employment positions would be eliminated Morris Library would be closed for up to 28 more hours each week, including all of Saturday More than 180 faculty positions would be eliminated The campus would see a reduction of $22,856,000 The campus would eliminate its menʼs and womenʼs tennis teams saving $688,000 (For more on possible cuts to Saluki Athletics, see page 8)
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BILL LUKITSCH | @Bill_LukitschDE
The university could be forced to cut nearly $23 million from faculty, staff and programs should the Illinois budget impasse continue until December, according to a university report released Wednesday. SIU President Randy Dunn unveiled a proposal drawn by budget staffers in response to Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s suggested cuts to higher education during fiscal year 2017, which begins July 1. There are 180 faculty and staff positions and 300 student employees that could be eliminated if the state does not resolve the higher education funding crisis in the coming months.
“Obviously, we still are working collectively with the other public institutions for a solution that will allow us to avoid implementing these reductions,” Dunn wrote in an email sent to university faculty and staff. University spokeswoman Rae Goldsmith said Dunn’s message is not a concrete plan, rather “an exercise to show the potential damage that could happen if we don’t get state funding.” “We’re not closing,” Goldsmith said. “We are trying to figure out how to manage through this budget crisis to ensure that we are fulfilling our primary mission, which is education.” The 180 university faculty positions on the chopping block include a mixed bag of 80 vacant
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administrative, faculty and civil service jobs that make up $5.5 million in spending. As many as 400 classes would be lost as a result and some academic programs could be eliminated. Losing 100 of the university’s more than 5,000 faculty and staff members would bring overall employment to its lowest point in a decade. A detailed list of the programs and positions at risk is available at dailyegyptian.com “It just worries me that measures are being considered that could really change what’s so great about SIU,” said Rachel Stocking, president of the university’s tenure and tenure-track faculty union. “To be in the situation
to reinvent the place under a big, huge gun, doesn’t bode well for the way the reinvention is going to happen.” Stocking noted the deep cuts to research and resources for underrepresented students at the university, saying the proposal could potentially change dramatically how it looks. “I hope very much that the administration will work with the unions to deal with this in a way that doesn’t destroy the mission — to figure out how to meet the challenge without ruining people’s lives or ruining what SIU has to give,” Stocking said. Peggy Wilkins, president of the university’s non-tenure track faculty union, said “sounding the alarm” for
professors would be premature. “We need to be concerned, but I don’t think people need to be so concerned to lose sleep at night,” Wilkins said. Reorganization of academic structure is also being considered to save slightly more than $1 million. Four separate colleges would merge into two, eliminating dean positions and associated office support. The university did not disclose which colleges are being considered for a merge. Goldsmith said the funding crisis has raised concerns from both prospective and current students, but the consolidation of colleges would not necessarily result in the discontinuation of academic programs. Please see BUDGET | 2