Perfect Record vol. 100, no. 25
Friday, November 18, 2011
1 SECTION, 8 PAGES
Sports page 8
Wildcats look to improve
university
Varner to depart leadership post early Hannah Barnes editor-in-chief
realignment. He said the mergers weren’t reflected in the cost savings. Faculty and staff had submitted more than 80 questions for the university president since the plan was announced and the meeting scheduled. Schubert answered a few of the most common ones near the end of the meeting, when he temporarily dispelled talks of athletics moving up to Division-1 until $1.5 million more in gifts is secured and said that none of the administrators are taking pay cuts in this plan. Schubert ended the meeting by saying that lower enrollment and the economy were to blame for the need for this realignment plan. “We can’t have any flexibility in the overall quality of students we allow into the university,” he said. “When the demand lowers, so must our enrollment, which is making these cuts necessary.”
Dr. Jeanine Varner will step down as provost before the end of December and join the Department of English full-time next semester. Dr. Phil Schubert, president of the university, told faculty and staff in email Thursday he had decided to speed up Varner’s transition out of the post. She had told faculty and staff two weeks ago her original plan was to leave the position at the end of the spring. “I have asked Dr. Jeanine Varner to complete her service as provost prior to the end of this calendar year rather than waiting until the end of the academic year as previously announced,” Schubert said in the email. He said the university will conduct a nationwide search to fill the position. In the meantime, Schubert will designate an interim provost within the next few weeks who will work with Varner during a transition. Schubert told faculty and staff in a universitywide meeting Thursday he valued Varner’s service. “I have the utmost respect and admiration for Dr. Varner,” Schubert told faculty and staff in the budget realignment meeting Thursday. Varner was granted tenure when she arrived at ACU in 2007 to serve as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Even in administration and moving to the provost job in 2009, Varner has continued teaching as much as possible. “The job will be quite different – but I’ve always been focused on effective teaching and student learning,” Varner said in an email. “While I would not have chosen the set of circumstances I’m experiencing now, I look forward to being with my students and my faculty colleagues.” Dr. Cole Bennett, interim chair of the Department of English, said the department is glad to have her. He said class schedules have not yet been finalized so it’s unclear what courses she will teach when she begins her role as full-time professor of English in January. “She is a tremendous scholar and has a successful record of classroom teaching,” Bennett said. “We are thrilled to have her expertise in our ranks.”
contact smith at mds10a@acu.edu
contact barnes at hab07a@acu.edu
THE PLAN AHEAD daniel gomez chief Photographer
Dr. Phil Schubert explained changed to the university’s budget to members of the faculty and staff who gathered in Hart Auditorium in two hour-long meetings on Thursday.
Restructuring to impact jobs, dormitory, iPhones and Study Abroad Mark Smith managing Editor Dr. Phil Schubert spelled out details of a $9.6 million university-wide budget realignment plan Thursday in a meeting with staff and faculty. Schubert, president of the university, showed the different areas of the university from which the money will be either cut or generated. Job eliminations and reductions will save the university $2.7 million, and universitywide reductions will lessen the budget by $1.5 million. About $1.2 million in specific program reductions and $1.1 in operating expense reductions also contribute to the $9.6 million overall plan. About $1.1 million is expected to be generated from online program revenue and increased gifts and auxiliary, and $2 million will be added by changing financial policy, including adjusting how the university builds its contingency fund and changing the university’s endowment spending policy.
The new plan calls for 35 university positions to be cut; 25 staff and 10 faculty members will be let go by summer 2012 under the plan. Schubert acknowledged the decision to eliminate jobs would have a significant and personal impact on the entire university. “We don’t ever want to be in a situation where we have to eliminate someone’s job,” he said. “But it’s impossible to avoid eliminating positions in a budget realignment plan on a $10 million scale.” While moving forward with these adjustments, Schubert said he and the senior leadership team decided to pull back on a plan that would require administrative coordinators to reduce hours and salaries by 20 percent beginning next year. “After considering the impact that would have had on everyone involved, we’re changing course,” he said. “We’re going to offer reduced workload and pay on a voluntary basis to all nonexempt staff.” In the university-wide sec-
tion of the plan, Schubert said iPhones won’t be offered to incoming freshmen in the 201314 school year as part of the Mobile Learning Initiative. “A significant number of students already bring in similar devices, so we’re pulling back on that,” he said. Schubert also said the team decided to slow capital growth spending by 10 percent, the university will charge a fee for students who pay tuition with credit cards, and there will be reduced fund allocation for cell phones for faculty and staff. Smith and Adams Halls will be shut down after the completion of the 2011-12 academic school year as part of the specific program cuts to be made. Schubert said the remaining sophomore residence halls have sufficient room for incoming sophomore classes. Schubert also said that Study Abroad and the Center for International Education will undergo a “radical shift” in its organization, management and funding. “We’re not reducing the
importance of these programs,” Schubert said. “There will still be the same amount of opportunity for students.” The specific program cuts also include reductions in faculty requirements for the Core curriculum, and campus custodial services won’t clean offices as often. In the operating expense reductions, information services will take an 11 percent cut and Student Life and finance and operations will lose 10 percent of funding. The executive division will be cut by eight percent and six percent of funds will be cut from both academics and marketing. Advancement faces a four percent decrease and athletics will lose two percent of funding. “We don’t know what the future is going to look like, but this is a good plan,” Schubert said. “It wasn’t an option for us to sit where we were and decide this process was too painful. Some action needed to be taken.” Schubert referenced the merging of several departments that will occur in the
accident
University makes adjustments for victims of bus crash tegrating into campus life. Several suffer severe infeatures editor juries that limit mobility and are learning to adjust The university is mak- accordingly. Merissa Ford, junior ing some adjustments on campus to help several agribusiness major from students involved in the Maple Valley, Wash., spent Nov. 4 shuttle bus accident nearly a week in Hendrick Medical Center after the complete their semester. Two of those injured in accident and said recovthe wreck remain in the ery will take some time. “You never think that hospital, but the rest have been released and are ei- something like a car accither at home or are rein- dent, or especially a roll-
samantha sutherland
over, will ever happen to you,” Ford said. “And now is the hard part – it’s when we’re healing and dealing with the frustrations.” Ford suffers from several broken and fractured bones after being ejected during the bus accident. She expects her injured vertebrae to take six to ten weeks to recover. Anna Watson, sophomore animal science major from Kerrville, incured
injuries that create limitations as well. She underwent two surgeries while in the hospital. Watson returned to her home in Kerrville last week after being released from the hospital Wednesday. She is unable to sit, walk and write well but is able to type and plans to do as much school work as possible that way. Members of the Student Life team, the pro-
“
You never think that something like a car accident, or especially a rollover, will ever happen to you.”
for all of the students involved in the accident. “We want to work very closely with them in their unique needs and get them through the semesmerissa ford ter as successfully as posjunior agribusiness major sible,” said Dr. Jean-Noel from maple valley, wash. Thompson, vice president for Student Life and dean vost office and Ed Brokaw, of students. For some students, chair of the Department of Agriculture and Envi- this may require moving ronmental Sciences, met classes from top stories to Tuesday to work out plans see bus page 4
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