To reiterate a raven message from Chancellor Stacy earlier this
week (4/19), the conversations about a fiscal crisis and a search for
additional state revenue in Nashville are real. Below is a news release
that is intended to inform the community of the issues UTC may face if some
sort of tax proposal is not implemented. Please continue to urge your
elected leaders, who will reconvene Tuesday in Nashville, to consider the
unpopular but necessary matter of increasing the amount of money Tennessee
has to spend for vital state services i.e. higher education.
        You can find e-mail addresses of our elected officials at:
http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/Index.htm
        That website also has updated news releases and information on the
tax proposal and related budget issues.



For Immediate Release


April 22, 1999

UTC Faces $1.5 Million in Budget Cuts Without Tax Plan

CHATTANOOGA - UTC Chancellor Bill Stacy said today he is gravely concerned
how the university will handle the nearly $1.5 million loss in funding for
the institution's 1999-2000 budget that Governor Don Sundquist indicates
will occur without some sort of new tax proposal being provided by state
legislators.
        "Through the tremendous efforts of our faculty and staff we have
been able to find a way to maintain the quality of education here at UTC,
but I worry about asking faculty, staff, and students to continue under the
financial circumstances the governor predicts," said Stacy.  "If some
revenue enhancement plan is not passed, we will clearly suffer in our
ability to meet the needs of our students, faculty, staff, and community.
This is not just an internal budget issue, but as the governor noted,  a
'financial crisis' for the state of Tennessee that will affect the entire
community."
        Chancellor Stacy said the university will be forced to look again
at personnel cuts or freezes and decreased student services such as a
reduction in library and computer lab hours accompanied by larger classes
and fewer course offerings.
        Stacy also said the loss of revenue will force administrators to
offset the loss in state appropriations with other income.  "That means
University of Tennessee Trustees must consider a double-digit increase in
tuition and fees for fall 1999.  This would clearly add a burden much
greater than some of the proposed tax hikes to many of our students'
families."
        With decreased state funding financial hardships will hit the
University from every angle:  facilities, equipment, services, and
salaries. With figures adjusted for inflation, UTC's current state funding
level for operating its campus per square foot is 33 percent lower than it
was in 1987-88 while the square footage has increased by more than 18.6
percent.
        Also on the cutting block according to the governor is a crucial
Engineering/Computer Science/Mathematics building for UTC, the only capital
construction project in Governor Sundquist's budget proposal. Without the
new facility, UTC's engineering education program stands to jeopardize its
professional accreditation in 2001.
        "Our engineering program is of extreme importance to the economic
growth of this community," says Stacy. "When new businesses are considering
locating in this area, we need to be able to assure them that we can
provide well-educated, highly-talented professionals in complex and
technologically sophisticated industries."
        According to a report released by the University of Tennessee, most
states have experienced collective salary increases over the last several
years significantly higher than those in Tennessee.  From 1996 through
1998, while Tennessee higher education faculty received aggregate salary
increases averaging five percent, their counterparts received nine percent
in Florida, 11 percent in North Carolina, 14 percent in Virginia, 16
percent in Kentucky and 18 percent in Georgia.
        Currently UTC faculty salaries are 15-20 percent below many of
their peers at southern universities and 12 percent below the national
average.  Low salaries are blamed for the loss of current faculty and staff
members, and recruiting new and replacement employees is hampered by the
resources that fall short of what other states provide higher education.
        "A continuation of low salary increases or no increase at all
naturally pressures even the most dedicated faculty to wonder how many more
years do they have to subsidize the university and the state with forgone
income," said Stacy.
        In addition, when compared to other Tennessee peer institutions,
UTC's expenditures for instruction, research, and public service are 3.2
percent below the average.
        "In the two years I have been here in Chattanooga, the one thing
that has disheartened me the most has been the lack of financial support
provided higher education in Tennessee," said Stacy.  "I have seen the
dedication and expertise of UTC's  faculty and staff and the diligent work
ethic of most of our students.  The people of this state are getting much
more than they pay for at UTC.   If it were not for the generous donors and
the University of Chattanooga Foundation, we could not achieve nearly the
quality that is rightfully demanded of UTC.
        "The state of Tennessee needs to decide what services -- including
higher education -- it wants to provide for its citizens, perhaps in
comparison with neighboring states, and decide what capital level is
sufficient.  Our citizens deserve opportunities to be safe, smart, healthy,
and productive.  Higher education investments enhance our chances at every
turn.  How much to invest and how to fund it are critical questions being
seriously debated in Nashville.  Seldom has it mattered more than now."

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Barbara J. Kennedy
News Coordinator
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
423-755-4363 (phone)
423-755-5299 (fax)