TO:  University of Idaho Students, Faculty and Staff
FROM:  Scott Green, President
DATE:  Dec. 20, 2019
SUBJECT:  Continued Work on Budget Challenges

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Seven weeks ago, I sent out a campuswide communication regarding our budget issues and the approach we are taking to address our operational and reserve deficits. I appreciate the work you have done to help us address these challenges. Despite the understandable anxiety surrounding the budget cuts we must make, we continue our work inside and outside the classroom, putting our students and the university first.

We promised to be as transparent as possible through this process and to communicate thoroughly and often as we develop and implement strategies to address our budget challenges. Sharing more information may cause stress at times but it is important for you to have as much information as possible to make informed choices.

In the time since the first communication went out, we have held open forums, discussed the process with the Faculty Senate, Staff Council and ASUI representatives, held numerous town halls across campus, issued communications regarding voluntary retirement and separation programs and offered a voluntary furlough program (as suggested by our employees). We will continue to meet with our employees and students to discuss both process and progress as well as communicate the status of our efforts. While progress is fluid, below is an update and answers to some of the more recent and recurring questions we have received.

College and Unit Budgets

All vice presidents, deans and unit leads are committed to addressing ways to cut expenses. Each is compiling a plan for meeting the targets assigned to each college and unit. Plans are due in January. I will review each one and expect to approve most proposals as presented because each vice president, dean and unit lead knows the best way to meet the challenges with the least impact on our students.

We will continue to invest in University Advancement, Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM), and University Communications and Marketing (UCM). We cannot increase enrollment, tell our story or encourage private investment in our mission without investing in these areas. Advancement brought $51 million to the university last year, money we need to continue to raise year in and year out. SEM and UCM have raised our profile and are seeing some early success. These teams are critical to improving our top line revenue.

Voluntary Separation Plans

We recently communicated the availability of a Voluntary Separation Incentive Program (VSIP) and an Optional Retirement Incentive Program (ORIP). Dec. 13 was the deadline for notifications of interest in these programs. Ninety-one people have expressed interest in VSIP and 109 in ORIP. This represents more than $14.5 million, but is not necessarily salary savings as some positions will need to be refilled. We also anticipate that not everyone expressing early interest in these programs will move forward with separation from the university.

Outsourcing

The first Request for Proposals for outside involvement in some university services is complete. The VandalStore will use Texas Book Company to manage its textbook sales. The buying power of this company should have positive results for the VandalStore and our students. All other functions of the VandalStore will remain unchanged. You can still buy your Vandal gear from our own university staff in the store. We continue to evaluate other outsource options keeping in mind the feedback we have heard from our community about how our cuts should not fall primarily on those most vulnerable.

Capital Projects

This week the Idaho State Board of Education approved the next steps of both CAFE and the Seed Potato Germplasm Facility. Many of you have asked how we can progress with these projects while looking at significant budget cuts at the university. Funding for both projects is a combination of state money and gift dollars. These state and gift funds cannot be reallocated to address our structural deficit. We could choose not to build these facilities, but we would have to return the money and we would still have the same operating deficit.

The ICCU Arena is another capital project which falls into this category. Money to build the arena was raised from private donations and student fees dedicated to the arena project. We are not allowed to redirect those funds for another purpose.

Administrative Concerns

One area we have repeatedly heard questions about is administrative salaries. It is true that administrative numbers have grown slightly over the past few years, primarily due to growth in the associate dean category. Human Resources recently compiled a market-based compensation report that shows executive salaries to be in line with the target salaries for such positions and behind the campus overall average of 96.25% of target (executives are at 94.84% of target).

Next Steps

There are many pieces to the budget puzzle, but the picture is beginning to come into focus. We will know more in the new year and will spend much of the spring semester making decisions about the path forward as outlined by leadership, faculty, staff and the Sustainable Financial Model Working Group.

The conversations we are having are not easy. The decisions are even harder. Keeping the students and our university at the forefront of our decision-making is vital. The choices we make now will set the stage for reinvestment and future success. We will not let the challenges we face define who we are, as we have much to be optimistic about. We are a top 100 public university. We are a U.S. News and World Report best value institution. We are making progress in our enrollment management and outreach programming. Attendance at our recruitment events is increasing. Our FY20 marketing efforts are vibrant and gaining traction with billboards across the state, bus wraps in the Treasure Valley, a new Breakthrough television spot hitting the airwaves and social media, a toolkit to engage our alumni in recruiting, and we have Vandalized over 1,000 classrooms inside and outside our state. Our commitment to our students is as strong as ever. I have said it before and will say it again; the important, impactful work that happens every day on our Moscow campus and at our centers, Extension and research sites across the state matters and makes a difference. We have much to be proud of. Together we will work through this challenge and come out braver and bolder for our efforts.

Thank you again for your continued work as we move through this set of challenges. We wish everyone a restful and joyous holiday season.

Scott Green
President

president@uidaho.edu
uidaho.edu/president