During Tuesday's Board of Trustees meeting, I voted to approve President Bernie Machen's budget cut plan because it puts UF in the best financial position going forward and serves the interests of the entire student body as well as it can during these trying economic times.
The first reason is that President Machen went about these cuts in the most respectful and efficient way possible. He was in constant communication with all of the department heads and engaged the Faculty Senate, as well as kept the student body informed at all times. I met with President Machen numerous times before I was convinced of this plan and know that this plan was constructed with our best interests in mind.
President Machen did a great job putting off as many cuts as he could before he had to cut people, and this is the end result of that mentality.
Another important reason is that these policies let us plan for the future and remain flexible. Some essential measures in this plan include as few cuts to staff and faculty as possible, the elimination of minimal full programs and the postponement of $11.5 million that will be cut in the fall to give time to adjust for any possible market fluctuations. I personally lobbied for these policies because if we were to use all of our federal stimulus dollars right off the bat to extend layoffs in hopes for better times, we would be doing a disservice to students.
These policies leave UF in a safer place, economically speaking.
The combined revenue of these policies, as well as the cutting of vacant positions and the elimination of non-personnel lines like travel and conferences, will make up for the budget shortfalls while protecting as much the value of every student's education as much as possible. We have to do the best we can with what we have and this plan does just that. Obviously we would want to keep some of these programs and staff, but the path this agreement sets out for us delays layoffs as long as we can while still retaining the tools we need to achieve the goals of this great university.
The way we handle these budget cuts will be one of the most important issues our university and my administration will face over the next year. Just as President Machen asked for any ideas or plans to help us deal with this issue, I ask for the same from my colleagues and from the students at UF. We will need the combined force of all of our resources to make sure that we go forward from this in a way that retains our status as a world-class, higher education institution.
I know that we can overcome these troubles with the wealth of knowledge that we possess as a group and look forward to working with anyone with ideas to offer; students, faculty, and everyone in between.
Jordan Johnson is the Student Body President.
