Budget Committee Meeting
October 19, 2020 @ 2pm
Attendees
Provost Michael Bruno, Dean Peter Arnade, Anne Bush, Brad Taylor, Chae Lee, Charles Cohan, Debra Drexler, Francine Uehara, Jaimey Faris, John Szostak, Kate Lingley, Laura Lyons, Lynn Mayekawa, Mary Babcock, Paul Lavy, Scott Groeniger, Velma Kameoka, Wendy Kawabata, Wendy Pearson
Summary of Discussion
Budget Situation
We are facing a short-term and long-term budget crisis in the State and at the University. The Governor intends to borrow $750 million from the federal reserve in the current fiscal year 2020-2021 (FY21) to address the State’s current budget shortfall; this loan must be repaid by the State within 3 years beginning July 1, 2021. The State and unions are currently in discussions related to possible furloughs (two days per month = 9.23% pay cut) for State employees over the course of the next four years. All University E/M employees will receive a pay cut beginning November 1, 2020.
While the University has not yet received its budget allocation from the State, we are confident that we will be in a good budget position for FY21 due to the current freeze on hiring, travel freeze and strong restrictions on equipment and other expenditures. However, we must plan now to position the University to withstand the future budget cuts and move away from furloughs and the painful cuts currently in place.
Process
The University cannot continue as a premiere R1 research university with four years of paycuts and freezes; this is not sustainable. We must start now to identify cost-saving efficiencies and increase revenue, primarily through enrollment growth. Mānoa Budget Committee members began meeting with Deans in March/April to examine budget reduction scenarios of 5%, 10% and 15%.
The Committee suggestions to academic units are not intended to be top-down mandates. The suggestions were based on external reports, information and data on hand, and are intended to be provocative and provoke conversations. The Committee is committed to meeting with highly impacted departments, listening to their thoughts/feedback, and working collaboratively to best position programs, departments and the University for success.
Cost-saving measures will not come on the backs solely of the academic side of the University. On the administrative end, Phase 2 of the Mānoa reorg is currently under development and identifies for elimination 12 E/M positions that will result in significant cost savings for the Mānoa campus. Additionally, a blue ribbon committee is currently reviewing the Athletics program to assess the current program and identify a sustainable future. We are also looking for efficiencies in other programs such as residential life, student housing, facilities, auxiliary services, parking, bookstore, and other areas of administration.
Review, approval and consultation with unions and affected stakeholders will continue through Spring 2021, it will take time to implement these plans. The aim is to be transparent and collaborative throughout the process as we continue to work to identify cost-saving efficiencies and increase enrollment revenue. Mānoa Staff Senate representatives will participate in these meetings as staff are also affected.
Details
The Department of Art and Art History currently collaborates with units on campus and around the community on various projects. Examples of graphic design projects include designing a concept for the name and graphics of the School of Architecture’s Building Voices Design Festival, creating content for an organization that rescues stranded dolphins and whales, and creating new identities for both the Library and Information Science Program and the State of Hawaiʻi Labor Relations Board. Many groups that have partnered with the Department were pleased with the end product and have made donations into the Department’s University of Hawai‘i Foundation account. Foundation funds are used for departmental scholarships and program initiatives.
There may be opportunities for designers and critical thinkers to think across platforms for sustainable transition approaches. Art, art history, and design may find synergies in collaborating with architecture, historical preservation, political science, social sciences, and urban planning. One idea to bring various disciplines together is to create a lab modeled after the MIT media lab. The MIT media lab creates projects that imagine space and individuality and uses those projects for science and medicine.
A summer institute could also bring together entities on campus and from around the Pacific Rim to collaborate in the areas of architecture, arts, computer sciences, data visualization, design, engineering, and other areas to work on and potentially solve real world problems. The Department is open to exploring teaching of design classes across disciplines such as design and sustainability, design and social equity, design innovation and entrepreneurship, and design history and theory as part of a summer institute. UH Foundation may be able to assist with obtaining an endowment for a summer institute.
While the Department receives word of mouth advertising from other art courses on campus, not everyone is aware of the graphic design program at the University. More publicity for its program may raise the number of students enrolled in the program.
There is high demand for web and graphic design program courses and services. However, due to limited teaching capacity and department resources in this area, faculty are not able to meet the demand and are unable to accept all applicants into the BFA program. Additionally, graphic design is one of the few areas that do not offer elective courses, as they do not have the capacity to offer electives and graduate BFA and BA students. Outside of their current teaching load, graphic design faculty offer a design workshop, provide services to non-profits so that students may work on projects and get real world experience, assist students with internships, and host an annual showcase at the design center or at Salt in an effort to provide additional services and learning opportunities to students and the community.
The graphic design faculty indicated they would like to hire a lecturer, an interdisciplinary designer with many design accomplishments. However, limited resources have prevented their ability to hire. An option could be to partner with Architecture to bring on this lecturer as a joint hire.
The Committee’s primary goal is to protect current employees before bringing on new hires. In addition, the Committee aims to put the University in a stronger, more viable financial state by increasing tuition revenue and achieving cost savings through reduced administrative costs by combining programs, departments and units; voluntary separations; and retirement through a faculty incentive program.
The Department faculty have expressed concern that historically, budget cuts and less faculty positions have a negative impact on students and graduation, as less faculty are available to offer required courses. The Committee indicates that it would like to invest in or at least sustain programs that have strong enrollment. The Committee also intends to revisit legacy budget allocations across campus.
Outcomes
The Committee initially recommended a temporary stop-out of the MA in Art History; based on the discussions with faculty, the Committee no longer recommends a temporary stop-out of the MA in Art History.
The Committee believes that the Department can play a significant role around design at Mānoa and looks forward to hearing ideas from the Department on opportunities to combine or collaborate with other units on campus that may further strengthen these programs.