University News
Budget Update [5/17/13]
May 17, 2013
Dear WIU Employees:
On May 14, the vice presidents and I presented plans to address shortfalls in the University budget in order to provide resources for upcoming salary obligations. We have an obligated contractual salary increase of 3.5 percent ($4.7 million) for the next fiscal year, which will require budget reductions for the campus.
We have met with the leadership from the campus unions and other campus constituency groups. We would like to thank the campus community for their feedback and their interest in finding reasonable solutions and cost-saving measures. We continue to investigate the feasibility of many of these recommendations. While we will continue to have an open dialogue with all groups, we must plan to meet our obligations for Fiscal Year 2014 and beyond.
We are living with more than a decade of state reductions and unfunded mandates. We rely on our tuition dollars now more than ever, and this trend is expected to continue. We are doing everything we can to lobby our legislature to secure as much funding as possible for higher education and to reduce the impact of any cuts that may occur. We continue to actively recruit and retain students at all levels.
As we continue to plan, the state budget and legislative process remain unpredictable. Should we experience further reductions in our state appropriation or further financial mandates from the state, we will again come together with the campus community to discuss how to manage through this crisis. It is always our hope to protect our employees from layoffs and furloughs. However, that is becoming more and more difficult. We must all remember the financial situation we currently face is not a one-year problem. Given what we know, I will work with my leadership team to continue planning for FY'14 and FY'15.
We ask for your patience and understanding in the days and months ahead. Thank you for your support of, and commitment to, Western Illinois University.
Sincerely,
Jack Thomas
President
Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing
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