Letter from Dean Pam Jansma
With several inches of snow on Sunday, I’d like to wish a happy beginning of winter to all and remind everyone that the clocks change this weekend.
CLAS held a Town Hall on the morning of Friday, October 20 to discuss Phase 2 of the continuation of the campus budget realignment process. About 30 people attended in person and an additional 80 joined on zoom. The decision for Phase 2 is 2.6% cuts across the board for all schools, colleges, and administrative units to take effect for FY2025, which begins on July 1, 2024. No budget cuts are easy, but the 2.6% is less than was anticipated in spring 2023. The amount for CLAS is about $1.16 million. CLAS can accomplish the reductions with current known retirements and resignations. The CLAS BPC met on Wednesday, October 25, 2023 to discuss this option. They recommended that we proceed and provide the position information to the Budget Office for vetting. CLAS Faculty Council, Staff Council, and Chairs will also weigh in on the recommendation in their meetings that are scheduled over the next few weeks prior to the deadline for submission in mid-December. Depending on the outcome of additional retirements, potentially through the voluntary incentive program announced last week for faculty and staff, CLAS may have limited continuing funds available. The CLAS BPC will devise metrics that will help guide us as we make decisions on where to invest. While this is welcome news after many years of reductions, we also need to be prudent as we position ourselves for a strong and healthy CLAS in the future.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have suggestions, questions, feedback or recommendations. Remember that the CLAS Budget website is continuously updated.
Thank you everyone for your continued hard work and commitment to CLAS.
Best,
Pam
