March 13, 2006
President Hundert answers common questions heard during open forums
Dear Members of the Case Community,
The university’s leadership team is currently meeting with the faculty from all of Case’s schools, along with many student and staff groups across campus. We have already held more than half of the meetings that were scheduled, and I look forward, over the next two weeks, to completing our first round of informational forums. I am pleased to report the meetings so far have been very well-attended, and each has been highlighted by wide-ranging and frank discussion about the budget and the challenges ahead of all of us.
When the meetings began late last month, I promised we would provide the Case community with a concluding report of what our senior leadership team has heard and learned. I will certainly do so. In the meantime, four important questions seem to recur at the forums, so I thought this would be a good time to share those questions and responses with all of you.
- What process has been put in place to identify budget reductions for fiscal year 2007?
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There are two major approaches to balancing the budget. The first involves cuts in central administration, especially in areas that do not directly affect the faculty and student experience. Budget reductions in central administration not only help close the budget gap, but also relieve pressure on the budgets of all eight schools that fund these expenses. We have also asked everyone in central to work closely with their counterparts in the schools to eliminate some of the redundancies that exist in a decentralized institution like Case. By closing this gap, we can preserve some, but not all, of the Vision Investment Plan dollars for the final year of the plan.
We must also work with the deans of the four schools that have been receiving vision dollars over the last several years. The deans of the School of Medicine, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Weatherhead School of Management, and the Case School of Engineering must work with their faculty and staff to find efficiencies and cost reductions that will not affect academic programs. This process must, of course, honor all of the commitments we have made to faculty who were recruited to the campus or retained here through the Vision Investment Plan.
Once all of these efficiencies have been identified and implemented, the deans will be asked to work with their faculties to engage in a priority-setting process related to programs. It has become clear that it no longer makes sense to differentiate between “vision dollars” and “operating dollars.” All programs need to be prioritized and decisions need to be made based on what’s best for both the long and the short terms.
- What are we doing to increase philanthropic support?
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Development is about relationships, and we must nurture those relationships. We must make sure that all alumni recognize that this university will continue to celebrate the rich traditions of their alma mater, while we embrace the future of the university: its vision, students, and faculty programs.
I have asked Jeff Robison, our new Vice President for Development, to ensure that our great supporters and friends are engaged. Jeff, Provost John Anderson, and I will dedicate our time to meet with them, and we are encouraging our deans, staff, and faculty to be involved in similar actions.
Long term, development resources need to be repositioned to support the major-gift and annual-fund activities of our eight schools. To that end, we will continue efforts to increase fundraising services to the schools, and implement processes that foster greater philanthropic productivity.
- Why doesn’t Case use its endowment to cover the budget shortfall?
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There are two reasons. The first is that our endowment performance is one of our great success stories over the last several years, having moved into the top quartile of the top competitive group in the nation. The return we get on our endowment is therefore considerably higher than our cost of credit, so it just doesn’t make financial sense to use endowment dollars for this purpose. The second reason is that most of our endowment is restricted to the uses that our donors specified when they created their endowment funds for our many professorships, programs, and scholarships.
- Will the current budget issues affect student services, especially financial aid?
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Case will preserve our student-aid packages for current students and will not change our levels of support for incoming students. Additionally, we are currently involved in the recruitment of a dean of undergraduate studies, and we will continue to pursue that hire. Provost Anderson and I are committed to ensuring that we will not reduce, in any way, our high-quality student services.
As you can see, we face important challenges in the coming months. Success is dependent on our continuing ability to work together to provide fresh and innovative answers to the hard questions that have been posed to us. I am confident that the commitment and dedication of the Case community will be the key factor in bringing about the changes we need to achieve.
Very truly,
Edward M. Hundert, M.D.
President
Posted by: Heidi Cool, March 13, 2006 02:37 PM | News Topics: Budget Planning, Open Forums, President Hundert