TUFTS HOCKEY
Workers, students talk changes, development to Davis Square see FEATURES / PAGE 5
Current hockey team enjoys time with alumni despite loss to Williams
Polykhroma’s latest exhibition features work from 21 Tufts artists see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 6
SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE
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T HE T UFTS DAILY
VOLUME LXXIV, ISSUE 58
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Tuesday, December 5, 2017
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Debt, financial challenges strike Schools of Arts and Sciences, and Engineering budget by Sophie Lehrenbaum News Editor
According to the Budget Overview for 2017, the shared budget of the Schools of Art and Sciences and Engineering (AS&E) must pay off $10 million in outstanding debt this year as part of its annual payment of debt and interest against a total of $161 million in outstanding debt. This has been issued to the school over time to support the construction of new buildings, such as the Collaborative Learning and Innovation Complex (CLIC) and the Science and Engineering Complex (SEC), as well as the upkeep to existing facilities. According to the Overview, the building of the CLIC and SEC in particular has increased annual debt payments by $7 million in the past three years. Patrick Collins, executive director of public relations for the university, said the current debt situation does not qualify as a deficit, which the university has not seen for at least 30 years. “There have been times when, early in a particular year or mid-year, a deficit might have been projected, but steps were taken to address it. That scenario, similar to this year, is not unprecedented,” Collins told the Daily in an email. According to Vice President for Finance and Treasurer Tom McGurty and Dean of the
School of Arts & Sciences James Glaser, the current pressure on the Arts and Sciences budget is not the result of poor planning, but rather the product of the viable assumptions made in years past not entirely playing out as expected. “There were a variety of strategies that were identified that would allow us to absorb those costs in the budget… We were unable to realize them… Basically, we were looking at growth in graduate enrollment — that did not occur,” McGurty said. Capital and Operating Budgets The university-wide budget is divided into two parts, the Overview explains, a capital budget and an operating budget. According to the Overview, the capital budget typically covers assets such as IT systems, equipment acquisition, construction and maintenance of facilities, for example, the CLIC and SEC, which often require additional loans and explain the large jump in recent debt. These types of expenditures are typically planned for several years in advance, said McGurty. While the construction cost for buildings like the CLIC and the SEC are over with the end of construction, the overhead costs of the buildings once in use increase the operating budget, McGurty said. However, there have been other unexpected changes to the operating budget, according to Glaser.
The operating budget covers “all of the revenue and expenses associated with the operations of all the schools at the university,” according to the Overview. Expenditures include supplies, equipment, travel, service contracts, utilities, maintenance and renovation costs for facilities, IT systems and equipment, according to the overview. The largest operating expense are the salaries, wages and benefits of faculty, staff and student employees. According to the Overview, student tuition and fees paid to the school makes up 73 percent of the AS&E operating revenues. This past year, not only did the tuition rate not increase as much as expected, but there was also an unanticipated decrease in the number of returning students, as much as four or five percent, Glaser estimated, which had a magnifying effect on budget strains. Glaser also pointed to union contracts which increased benefits for employees, which were not factored into initial budget calculations. “We’ve had union contracts that have happened in the past couple of years that, when we made the [initial] assessment … weren’t even a sparkle in anybody’s eye,” Glaser said. “The tuition has not gone up to the same degree that we expected it to.” McGurty added that increased costs in the financial aid awarded for Master’s programs and administrative inefficiencies also contributed to a budget burden.
Moreover, the acquisition of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) has yielded additional financial challenges for the school, although McGurty explained that the university’s projections of the costs associated with the SMFA had been accurate. Though they knew the SMFA would have a deficit in the several years following the acquisition, this year’s enrollment statistics were below what was anticipated, he said. “I think that these are sort of growing pains,” McGurty said, referring to the SMFA acquisition. “As we’ve taken on the school, there is continuously a lot of confidence that there is an ability to realize those enrollments long term. But it was primarily a problem on the enrollment side, when we just didn’t meet our targets.” Glaser also said there had been a lack of applications to the SMFA, but the university could increase its marketing of the school to increase enrollment. “If we build applications, we are confident we will build the enrollment there,” Glaser said. “The challenge is getting the word out that the museum school is under new management and that it’s going to be a fantastic place where you will get a high-quality art degree but also have access to a first-class undergraduate education… But we do have a challenge to make it work.” see BUDGET, page 2
President of Croatia advocates integration with European Union by Natasha Mayor News Editor
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovićć, President of the Republic of Croatia, spoke about her multi-dimensional approach to foreign policy in front of a full crowd at ASEAN
Auditorium on Monday night. Her talk was part of the Charles Francis Adams Lecture series. The Republic of Croatia suffered internal turmoil in the 1990s as the result of a destructive yet successful war for independence from Yugoslavia. Following a close election in
EDDIE SAMUELS / THE TUFTS DAILY
President of the Republic of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović speaks at a Charles Francis Adams Lecture, moderated by Dean of The Fletcher School James Stavridis at the ASEAN auditorium on Dec. 4.
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January 2015, Grabar-Kitarovićć was elected as the first female head of state. James Stavridis, dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, introduced Grabar-Kitarovićć as a politician who is first and foremost a diplomat. He praised GrabarKitarovićć for her judgment, expertise and wisdom and then praised Croatia for its friendly people, natural beauty and delicious wine. Grabar-Kitarovićć’s lecture centered around southeast Europe, Croatia’s role in the EU, and the transatlantic relationship between Europe and the United States. Early in her lecture, Grabar-Kitarovićć established that she wished to use the term “Southeast Europe” to refer to area known as the Balkans. She said this is because the Balkanization has become “a global trope for dissipation, for fragmentation, for war, for instability.” Grabar-Kitarovićć said that although it is easy for a country to remain confined, it can also choose to find its niche and become a small power. In the future, she wants Croatia to help bring about peace and stability in the neighborhood of southeast Europe.
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“What I want for Croatia is to be a lot more assertive — to be a lot more of a leader rather than a follower,” she said. In regards to the EU, she says it has become more inward-oriented, especially with the influence of Brexit. Grabar-Kitarovićć said the consolidation of European countries is necessary and lamented that progress has been stalling. “We’re losing the hearts and the minds of the people because the people are becoming disheartened by the fact that they think that they’re not good enough,” Grabar-Kitarovićć said. “We don’t need just rhetorical assurances. What we need is complete and concrete steps of these countries to make progress on the road to EU membership.” In regard to migration, Grabar-Kitarovićć said that everyone has a right to a better life. She explained how the majority of migrants were men aged 16 to 45, meaning that helpless women and children were left behind. She said that all countries need to work together to assuage the situation and deal
NEWS............................................1 COMICS.......................................3 FEATURES.................................5
see GRABAR-KITAROVIĆ, page 2
ARTS & LIVING.......................6 OPINION.....................................9 SPORTS............................ BACK