Post by jdsippin on Jul 11, 2007 22:57:34 GMT -5
This is not good news for FIU and FAU...with the budget cuts going into effect, the $$ will have to come from fund raising, which I know is miserable for FIU...and the personnel freeze will really hurt FIU's plans to compete with the big boys...you have to have the staff support to a competitive DI program..Maybe they got their personnel in place before the freeze...these tax cuts may turn out to be a pretty big issue for these schools
www.miamiherald.com/416/story/167781.html
Several universities to freeze faculty hiring
BY NOAH BIERMAN
nbierman@MiamiHerald.com
Florida International University's president said Wednesday he will spare faculty from hiring freezes that are affecting other state universities, but will still have to make significant cuts to meet a state requirement to trim millions.
Florida Atlantic University, which serves Broward County, is among several schools that plans to freeze faculty hiring, the school announced Wednesday in a memo to staff. The University of Florida and the University of Central Florida are also freezing faculty hiring. Gov. Charlie Crist has told all state agencies to cut 4 percent form their budgets and prepare for 10 percent cuts in response to lower tax collections.
Florida universities already have the nation's second worst faculty-to-student ratio in the country, only besting Louisiana, according to a recent report from state university chancellor Mark Rosenberg.
''We are really hurting in terms of hiring new faculty,'' said FIU President Modesto ''Mitch'' Maidique.
FIU is already down about 80 positions from attrition and would need to hire 200 to 300 professors to be at full staff, Maidique said. He does not expect to fill the 80 lost jobs immediately.
He said all ''non-core expenses'' including employee raises are on the table. He was sent a memo to staff soliciting proposals to find $9.4 million in cuts from the operating budget. The school will freeze hiring in support and administrative positions.
FAU, based in Boca Raton, is not only freezing faculty and staff hiring, it is also freezing travel unless approved by a vice president.
''It's always tough, but until we can evaluate our entire program and the optimal method of identifying the reductions, we wanted to include faculty positions as well,'' said Ken Jessell, FAU's vice president for financial affairs.
Rosenberg worries the hiring freezes across the state, spurred by the need to trim $100 million from all 11 state university campuses, will hurt graduation rates.
''We can get our students in, but we can't get them out,'' Rosenberg said, noting that 48 percent of Florida students graduate within four years.
State agencies may have to make further cuts, depending on tax collections, so universities have been told to prepare for the possibility of losing another $150 million.
FIU and UCF are both building new medical schools and will continue to hire faculty in preparation for 2009 openings.
State higher education leaders have taken a harder line in fighting for money in recent days after Crist vetoed a 5 percent tuition increase. Tuesday, the Board of Governors, which oversees public universities, voted to challenge Crist and the Legislature by imposing a 5 percent tuition increase in January and freezing the number of new freshmen admitted to all schools beginning in January. The board also joined a lawsuit that asserts its authority to set tuition.
Still, even if the 5 percent increase withstands a legal challenge, it would raise only $9 million this year for the entire system, meaning schools will still have to make cuts, Rosenberg said.
www.miamiherald.com/416/story/167781.html
Several universities to freeze faculty hiring
BY NOAH BIERMAN
nbierman@MiamiHerald.com
Florida International University's president said Wednesday he will spare faculty from hiring freezes that are affecting other state universities, but will still have to make significant cuts to meet a state requirement to trim millions.
Florida Atlantic University, which serves Broward County, is among several schools that plans to freeze faculty hiring, the school announced Wednesday in a memo to staff. The University of Florida and the University of Central Florida are also freezing faculty hiring. Gov. Charlie Crist has told all state agencies to cut 4 percent form their budgets and prepare for 10 percent cuts in response to lower tax collections.
Florida universities already have the nation's second worst faculty-to-student ratio in the country, only besting Louisiana, according to a recent report from state university chancellor Mark Rosenberg.
''We are really hurting in terms of hiring new faculty,'' said FIU President Modesto ''Mitch'' Maidique.
FIU is already down about 80 positions from attrition and would need to hire 200 to 300 professors to be at full staff, Maidique said. He does not expect to fill the 80 lost jobs immediately.
He said all ''non-core expenses'' including employee raises are on the table. He was sent a memo to staff soliciting proposals to find $9.4 million in cuts from the operating budget. The school will freeze hiring in support and administrative positions.
FAU, based in Boca Raton, is not only freezing faculty and staff hiring, it is also freezing travel unless approved by a vice president.
''It's always tough, but until we can evaluate our entire program and the optimal method of identifying the reductions, we wanted to include faculty positions as well,'' said Ken Jessell, FAU's vice president for financial affairs.
Rosenberg worries the hiring freezes across the state, spurred by the need to trim $100 million from all 11 state university campuses, will hurt graduation rates.
''We can get our students in, but we can't get them out,'' Rosenberg said, noting that 48 percent of Florida students graduate within four years.
State agencies may have to make further cuts, depending on tax collections, so universities have been told to prepare for the possibility of losing another $150 million.
FIU and UCF are both building new medical schools and will continue to hire faculty in preparation for 2009 openings.
State higher education leaders have taken a harder line in fighting for money in recent days after Crist vetoed a 5 percent tuition increase. Tuesday, the Board of Governors, which oversees public universities, voted to challenge Crist and the Legislature by imposing a 5 percent tuition increase in January and freezing the number of new freshmen admitted to all schools beginning in January. The board also joined a lawsuit that asserts its authority to set tuition.
Still, even if the 5 percent increase withstands a legal challenge, it would raise only $9 million this year for the entire system, meaning schools will still have to make cuts, Rosenberg said.
