[Mathregionals] FW: Positioning the University for a positive and stronger future

Fri Feb 28 19:47:35 EST 2020

Hi all,

I know it is easy to skip over emails from the President’s Office, but it’s important to read it through (included below). The announced cuts buried in the verbiage are substantial and will have an impact on Arts and Sciences beyond the 11.6 million announced last Spring.   The latest figures I’ve heard were that the total magnitude for A&S is in the range of 18%-20% over the next 3 years.  These may come down a little as potential consequences are worked out, but I want to make everyone aware how large these cuts are, and that they will force changes as soon as next Fall.

I met with Todd Y. this morning to look at the schedule for next year, to make sure of what it is we need to offer that is required for various undergraduate programs.   We will start with that, and offer what graduate courses we can; I will continue to work with Tanya to figure out what needs to run.   We will try to come up with something workable short term.

The immediate consequence for fall is on class sizes in the 2301-3400 range: in particular, 3200, 3300, and 3400 are likely to have fewer but larger sections offered.

There will also be pressure to cancel low enrolled courses, and have the instructor teach something else.  When this happens, it is likely that people will be asked to teach something like 1300, 1350, or 2500 instead of us covering with an adjunct, or graduate student overload.

I am unclear as to how cuts are being distributed among the regional campuses, but the messages I’ve received are that we should expect to end up sharing more and more courses over the next few years as people leave and are not replaced.  We’ve managed to do this some this Spring; I expect there will be more of it going forward.

I will keep everyone informed as I learn things.

Best,

Todd

From: President M. Duane Nellis <president at ohio.edu>
Sent: Friday, February 28, 2020 9:30 AM
To: Eisworth, Todd <eisworth at ohio.edu>
Subject: Positioning the University for a positive and stronger future

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The Office of the President

Feb 28, 2020

[OHIO President M. Duane Nellis]<https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ft.e2ma.net%2Fclick%2Fx8j29c%2Fxo0d68%2Fl7qxdt&data=02%7C01%7C%7C6ee45ca4a0674f45c07208d7bcb0f7f1%7Cf3308007477c4a70888934611817c55a%7C0%7C0%7C637185340574112560&sdata=hK62DfgMvwXQOPLWLh8DX66AeGICTvTR9AYW%2F5TpPGI%3D&reserved=0>

M. Duane Nellis,
President
Dear University Community,

I write today to update you on work happening across the University to position us for a positive and stronger future as we develop strategies to rebalance our University budget. As you know, this is a time of great change and transition for our University and across the higher education landscape. The decisions we make, together, will impact the trajectory of this institution, the lives of the students we serve, and the community in which we live and work. They will also impact people within our University community – people who I have come to know and to deeply respect for their commitment to our students and to our shared mission.

Even as we move toward decisions to rebalance our budgets in order to reinvest in our future, I am full of confidence and optimism for what is to come for Ohio University and the students we serve. Think of the progress we have made – year-over-year growth in research funding received, Faculty Senate approval of a new, exciting, faculty-designed general education curriculum, the launch of the OHIO Guarantee+, significant forward movement on our efforts to improve our marketing and branding, and increases in alumni engagement and fundraising. Those are only a few of the countless success stories on this campus in this academic year alone.

We also continue to strategically invest in our shared future, leveraging our reserves to reshape our institution. We have begun work on a new eSports facility with an academic focus. We are hiring faculty in key research areas, such as our Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute. Our Athens campus is undergoing significant transformation to support our academic mission with the construction of the new Heritage College of Medicine building and the new Chemistry building. We secured a foundational gift that will allow us to undertake major renovations to our Fine Arts facilities in the coming years. We are moving two of our undergraduate online degree completion programs to four-year online programs to expand our ability to serve non-traditional students.

However, we must also address an imbalance in our operational spending. Our Board of Trustees has provided for a $65 million use in reserves through Fiscal Year 2024 to ease the impact on the academic core of our University so that we may responsibly make decisions that allow for real investment in our academic mission.

With our ongoing commitment to shared governance, faculty and staff representatives from divisions across the University met this week as an expanded team tasked with guiding the Strategic Initiative to Build a Dynamic Budget Model and Rebalance Budgets. This group will discuss solutions to achieve operational savings in response to forecasted reductions in enrollment revenues and inflationary impacts on our expense base. The scope of our reductions, while significant, is achievable if we are innovative, are willing to recognize and overcome obstacles to change, and set our focus squarely on our academic mission by continuing to deliver the meaningful experiences and critical mentoring our students need to achieve the success they deserve.

To begin their work, the Strategic Initiative team reviewed an analysis provided this week by Provost Chaden Djalali to Deans that included progress to date on planned budget reductions and revenue growth within their colleges and potential targets for incremental reductions of approximately $26 million over the next three years. In addition, I have tasked my leadership team to develop a plan for additional reductions in administrative units of at least $8 million and to seek administrative efficiencies through service realignment in order to protect and preserve our academic core. These plans will also be reviewed by the Strategic Initiative team for feedback and input.

We can and we must find savings in non-employee expenses, and we are enacting spending controls on external costs, such as consulting contracts. However, the majority of our operational costs, like most universities, are in our employees, and we will not be able to achieve reductions of this magnitude without reducing positions in most if not all colleges and administrative divisions. The introduction of the Voluntary Separation Agreement made available to most tenured faculty and the Early Retirement Incentive Program for AFSCME custodial employees will alleviate some need for reductions, but not all.

As we collectively analyze reductions, they must be strategic. We must streamline administrative functions and share services so we can focus investment on our students’ academic needs. We must also reduce in areas where we have seen declines in student demand so we can balance our budget and invest in programs where we have and can achieve growth, and that will define our institution going forward. We must ask ourselves what we can stop doing to make it possible for us to start new academic initiatives that will contribute to a thriving future.

As I consider the decisions ahead, it is notable that our greatest successes happen through collaboration. When we bring together our mutual passion for students and their success, celebrate all of the talent we have among us, and generate ideas from all corners of the institution, we can truly solve any problem. With that in mind, I invite each of you to bring forward ideas within your college or division for ways in which we can achieve efficiencies while continuing to meet our core mission, as one of Ohio’s leading public Universities.

Every day, I am humbled to serve an institution that set the standard for education in our state and our region. Today’s changing landscape invites us to once again pioneer new, innovative approaches to education that allow us to efficiently deliver an unmatched educational experience. I am confident that we can and will rise to the challenge, and I look forward to continuing to partner with you as we move forward.

With gratitude,

[http://d31hzlhk6di2h5.cloudfront.net/20200228/e7/37/d2/8e/2586de6b24a83470bb094930_560x168.png]

M. Duane Nellis,
President
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