In anticipation of potential multimillion-dollar reductions in state appropriations during the current and coming fiscal years, Chancellor Nancy Cantor has appointed an advisory committee that will recommend strategies for reducing administrative expenses by streamlining operations and pooling resources.
Earlier this month, Gov. Rod Blagojevich asked Illinois public universities to help alleviate the state’s fiscal crisis by setting aside 8 percent of their appropriations for the current fiscal year, a sum of nearly $59 million for the UI. The chair of the House Appropriations Committee also notified Illinois public universities they should prepare for possible cuts of 5 percent to 10 percent in their FY04 appropriations. The Committee on Reorganization of Administrative Services will determine where functions shared by multiple campus units can be combined into business and support service centers. Deans, directors and vice chancellors are reassessing the activities in their units and will propose ways these might be clustered to increase efficiency and reduce costs. Cantor announced the reorganization plans in a March 7 e-mail message to faculty and staff members. The message indicated the resulting savings will help compensate for reduced state funding while protecting the university’s core missions of education and research. “The scale of these shared business and service centers will be small enough to permit functions to be carried out by people who are knowledgeable about unit practices, and close enough to faculty, staff and students to be responsive to their needs and deliver effective service,” Cantor said. Provost Richard Herman is chairing the 32-member committee, which comprises leaders of administrative and service units, executive officers of colleges and departments, business and support services professionals, supervisors, students and faculty members. The committee will make its recommendations to Cantor by April 7 so they can be incorporated into the FY04 budget request.
Committee to streamline administrative operations
By Sharita Forrest, Assistant Editor (217) 244-1072; slforres@illinois.edu
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