Despite the sun shining through the windows, it was a gloomy atmosphere inside the Student Center Tuesday as members of the Faculty Senate discussed the state of the budget and what it meant to their jobs.
Philip Howze, president of the Faculty Senate, said he went into the meeting wanting to understand from Chancellor Sam Goldman how the budget would affect him and his peers.
“What I want to know is how bad this cut is going to be and how bad is it going to affect SIUC — this university,” he said. “Tell us our problems, and don’t keep everything under wraps. We’ve got to know.”
Goldman addressed the senate with news that each college had to create a proposal to present a way each college could cut 10 percent from its budget. He said each proposal would be due by the end of today’s business hours, when they would be sent to SIU President Glenn Poshard, who would send them to Illinois legislators for review.
The General Assembly asked for the school to provide the proposals as it tries to cut away the state’s $13 billion debt. The 10 percent cuts would need to be made by June 30, the end of the fiscal year.
The proposals would show legislators how devastating a 10 percent cut would be to the university, Goldman said.
“We started looking around and seeing what the impact would mean, and let me tell you it would be terrible,” he said. “The amount of bodies strewed all over the place would be incredible, and the impact on the local economy would be crippling.”
Goldman said the university has looked at four different proposals to help with the school’s budget, as the state still owes $150 million to the university. Options include layoffs, closing the university several days a year or dropping classes that are deemed unnecessary.
Don Rice, interim provost for SIUC, said classes would be evaluated on their usefulness, not their popularity.
“Frankly, there are several courses that are critical to the major, even though they are under-enrolled. It’s the nature of the major,” Rice said. “We’re just looking at classes which are simply not necessary.”
Peggy Stockdale, a professor in psychology and the former president of the Faculty Senate, said faculty should be involved in budget decisions.
“This faculty is willing to do as much as it can to help this university,” she said. “We can step up to the plate. Get us involved; let us be a part of the solution.”
Although Gov. Pat Quinn has proposed a 1 percent income tax surcharge to raise money for education, Budget Committee Chairman Allan Karnes said the university could not put its hopes on the proposal passing.
“I don’t think anything will happen,” he said. “We’ll keep getting a six-month budget, and it will continue to be kicked down until the elections. We’re told maybe after those something will happen, but right now Rome is burning.”
Howze said all he wants is a little clarity on whether he and other faculty members should begin tightening their wallets in a worst-case scenario.
“If I’m going to have time on the street, I got to know,” he said. “That way I know I got to be careful not to buy that extra treat. Tell me something so I can hold on to my pennies.”
Other business discussed during the meeting included possible increases in parking sticker fees for all faculty members, along with the removal of free guest parking passes. Guests will have to pay a small fee for a pass in the future.
Ryan Voyles can be reached at rvoyles@dailyegyptian.com or
536-3311 ext. 259.
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I have heard that the Economics Depratment at SIUC is cutting the assistantship of graduate students from 50% to 25 %. Why is this? Is it fair to leave students with something not enough for living? Daily Egypians can you please give this issue a coverage.
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