SAS dean asks depts. to cut costs

School of Arts and Sciences Dean Rosemary Stevens is asking all department chairpersons to consider reducing their budgets by 10 percent for next year. In a memo distributed last week, Stevens informed SAS department chairpersons of the school's struggling financial situation. In interviews this week, several chairpersons said Stevens' proposed cut may not be feasible. "The bad news is that the School of Arts and Sciences, like most schools in the University, must scramble to balance its budget," Stevens said in the February 5 memo. Major factors contributing to the present financial difficulties include the rising costs of undergraduate financial aid, recent federal insurance standards requiring the University to pay greater employee benefits, SAS computing costs and a decreased subsidy from the central administration, according to the memo. The memo also stated that the school is suffering from a decline in tuition revenues because of the graduation of 1991's "bulge-class" and an increase in the number of students transferring out of SAS. Despite SAS' financial problems, Stevens is continuing her quest to improve the school's faculty. According to the memo, she hopes "to build the faculty modestly in the next five years, principally through the appointment of non-tenured faculty." "I am committed to resisting the temptation to balance our budget by freezing or cancelling searches [for new faculty]," she said. She also cited the need to "continue to compensate our present standing faculty at a level comparable with peer institutions." But SAS chairpersons said this week that there is a lack of "fat" to cut from their departmental budgets. "There isn't a lot of fat to cut," Math Department Chairperson Robert Powers said. "We're in the process of figuring out of what to do," Powers said. Like most other departments, he said, their "budget has already been constrained for the last few years." Regional Science Department Chairperson Stephen Gale said he is also unsure of what action to take. "The memo is ambiguous and it's not clear how anyone is supposed to respond to it," Gale said. Biology Department Chairperson Sally Zigmond said she thinks the proposed across-the-board cut is not a feasible solution. "It is probably not wisest to assume we are able to make equal cuts which are of equal quality," Zigmond said. Gale said he thinks the cuts will affect each department differently. "[The budget cuts would have an] enormous impact on very small departments and a small impact on very large departments," Gale said. Zigmond said she believes the University should be more selective in its funding to the departments. "There are areas which we could do without, without hurting the undergraduate curriculum and the academic experience," Zigmond said. "We should select certain areas to specialize in and do well." A number of chairpersons attributed the SAS dean's suggested budget cuts to Gov. Robert Casey's decision not to recommend state funding for the University. But several chairpersons said the University is presently in better financial straits than other universities throughout the country. "All universities are being hurt," Zigmond said. "We've been more conservative in our previous financial planning so we aren't that badly in debt." Stevens could not be reached for further comment last night.

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