I wish to join Prof. Fell in thanking the Provost for opening up the
Academic Budget for analysis and discussion. While we may have honest
disagreement and open discussion about the three proposed program subsidy
reductions, at least there is a reasoned rationale. But as Melissa
Burchfield pointed out the other day, the academic budget is shaped in the
context of the entire UTC budget, and we are still waiting for the other
shoe(s) to drop.

Chancellor Stacy has commendably offered to open up the entire budget
process to scrutiny and faculty feedback, but the UTC community still
awaits disclosure of the difficult choices that non-academic units must
also make if we are to redirect funds to equity issues for faculty and
staff. Everyone seems to agree that the central mission of the university
is academics. The budget should reflect that commitment by changing
priorities towards our teaching of students.

Budget Committee meetings can be informative forums, but only if committee
members and others who choose to participate have information in their
hands well before the meetings. I urge Vice Chancellor Brown and the other
administrators to post their proposed fiscal year budgets on a web page, as
Provost Friedl did back in the fall. For example, Richard McDougall is to
present his Student Development budget March 15, the day after Spring
Break. The next four Mondays (2:00-4:00 P.M. in Fletcher 113) will see a
stream of budget requests.

Since March is the month when the pieces must fall into place, I am sure
the non-academic areas have decided what to cut out of their budgets. It is
time to share the pain.

Richard Rice
Faculty Secretary