The annual “Conversation With Staff Council” meeting was held Tuesday to address how the Texas financial crisis would affect the University,
The meeting focused on figuring out how to soothe the University’s financial troubles, as well as ways to raise staff morale, address faculty concerns, and improve communications without impacting the budget.
The 82nd Texas Legislature passed bills finalizing decisions on funding higher education. According to the legislative update for June 2011, in the next two years many programs would no longer have funds appropriated to them from the state.
“The council conversation held this year would be a turnaround from previous years’ regular council conversations, during which staff would mainly pose specific questions,” UH Staff Council President Carol Barr said.
“As the advisory body, the staff council would be devoted to providing potential administration solutions on how to go through budget cut this year.”
Under Senate Bill 1, the UH system’s revenue appropriation would be reduced by $81 million for the biennium.
“The impact of the proposed cuts on the UH System can be equated to 9,300 students lost or 1,220 courses eliminated or 300 faculty lost,” UH President Renu Khator said.
Proposed cuts to the higher education budget have caused many students, educators and state leaders to wonder if public institutions, which benefit more from state funding than private institutions, will suffer from a reduced quality of education as a result.
The staff in attendance was concerned about layoffs brought on by the new budget. UH Health Center Director Floyd Robinson said that his department had to fire one staff member for financial reasons last year.
Khator said that UH will continue to move forward as a Tier One University and to guide students to success.
“We are prepared to address any financial hardships that our current economic circumstances demand,” Khator said.
UH management is making efforts to create efficient financial strategies to cope with the hardships.
“UH is gradually transferring to privately financed public institution due to more fundraising from sources other than governmental grant funding,” Executive Vice President of Administration and Finance Carl Carlucci said.
Strategies also included allocating funds based on adjusting faculty workload, class size and class scheduling.
