UF's Board of Trustees is taking a staycation this year due to budget cuts.
For its annual retreat today, the board will convene at the Lake Wauburg Cypress Lodge instead of traveling to White Oak, north of Jacksonville, or Fort Myers, in South Florida, as it has in previous years.
UF has also pared the retreat down to one day instead of the typical two.
As a result, UF will be spending about a quarter to a fifth of what it normally spends on the retreat, said Janine Sikes, UF spokeswoman.
"It's not prudent to be spending money amid a budget crisis," Sikes said.
This year, she said, UF is shelling out $1,800 for a catering service and supplies - anything from pencils to tablecloths.
Those are private funds provided by the UF Foundation, wrote Brian Beach, UF's interim senior vice president for administration, in an e-mail.
Trustees who live outside of Gainesville pay for their own travel expenses.
The retreat gives the board a chance to discuss "big-picture" items in an informal setting, like what UF's priorities should be during budget cuts, Sikes said. The board will not vote on any issues.
"These are twenty-thousand-feet discussions," she said.
Among those who will make presentations today are UF President Bernie Machen and Shands HealthCare CEO Tim Goldfarb.
