Despite FAMU’s increasingly dire budget outlook, leadership bodies such as FAMU’s Board of Trustees, faculty senate, and faculty union still have not mobilized behind a number of policy ideas that could produce millions and save jobs.In his “State of the University Address” on Monday, President James Ammons announced that the Florida Legislature is a discussing a possible 15 percent across-the-board in the public higher education budget. If implemented, it would rip $13.4M from FAMU’s recurring revenue. FAMU has already lost $26.6M in recurring revenue since 2007, but still managed not to lay off any permanent faculty members.
Florida is facing a $3B budget deficit in 2010-2011. While FAMU used about $4.7M in federal stimulus dollars to avoid laying off many university employees, the looming shortfall means next year's stimulus dollars won't stretch as far as this year's did. This is a big problem for FAMU because it doesn’t have the same ability as institutions such as the University of Florida to simply replace stimulus dollars with tuition revenue.
347 employee positions are being paid with stimulus funds that run out in 2011.
The bad budget situation is being made worse by the lack of leadership on FAMU’s Board of Trustees. Trustees continue to discuss options such as furloughs and layoffs but have yet to adopt creative options such as out-of-state student fee breaks, which FSU’s BOT is using to bring in millions.
Even worse, the faculty senate and faculty union still are not asking tough questions about why the BOT has failed to approve out-of-state fee breaks and other moneymaking options being used across the State University System. Those campus organizations have also been absent from the ongoing legislative debate on reversing the statewide decline in tax revenue.
Professors and staffers have not shown up in any significant numbers to support Sen. Al Lawson during the legislative committee meetings at which he’s attempting to close sales tax loopholes and create millions for higher education. They have also remained silent on bipartisan proposals such as Sen. Evelyn Lynn and Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda’s bill to streamline the process of collecting sales taxes from purchases made over the internet. Florida TaxWatch estimates that the state fails to collect as much as $2B annually from remote sales.
Although Gov. Charlie Crist also wants to increase the SUS budget, he will need citizens to lobby the legislature to approve his $300M Seminole gaming compact to help him do it.
Many FAMU employees are content to simply sit back and say: “I’m not doing a damn thing until the university reduces administrative salaries.” These individuals don’t seem to understand that they’re not the only workers who have problems with what public university administrators are being paid. Professors at UF and Florida State also complain about administrative salaries at their institutions, as well. However, none of the groaning about administrative pay stopped those institutions from laying off faculty and staffers. It didn't work at UF and FSU and it won’t work at FAMU.
Money talks. The FAMU workers who want to save their jobs only have a few months left to help the university find new sources of money to accomplish that goal.
If I had any doubt that this website is controlled by the administration, this article makes is perfectly clear. First, President Ammons simply stating for a year that he would maintain all jobs was dangerous and hazardous to this University. Second, strategic planning is more than a PowerPoint. For example, Arts and Sciences is full of OPS faculty. That is no way to build a college. Third, hiring every freak, friend and freeloader and giving them administrative jobs was pompous and arrogant. Fourth, faculty and the union should have been included in the mix immediately. To come to faculty and the union when are backs are to the wall and then blame them and ask them for suggestions now when KNOWN has been solicited before hand is foolhardy. This problem cannot be corrected by a nickel and dime fundraising campaign.
ReplyDeleteFundraising starts at the top. Dr. Ammons did not inherit Dr. Humphries’ FAMU nor is HE the fundraiser that Dr. Humphries was. This article is dangerous and divisive. President Ammons has run a top down highly paid administration. Let’s see what we have been paying for. Where is their innovation?
Cuts start at the top!!!
10:40 am How dare you write this it will be REMOVED!!! Dr. Ammons is Moses and you have the nerve to attack him, Judas!!! Over 1.5 million dollars in Lee Hall jobs and you question our Great Leader!
ReplyDeleteOH GREAT AND FORGIVING RN PLEASE DONT SMITE HER/HIS COMMENT FOR FEAR THAT IT HAS 100% TRUTH IN IT! PLEASE OH MIGHTY RN HAVE HOPE THAT THE SHEEP CAN NOT READ SUCH TRUTH AND KNOW THAT THE GREAT LEADER DR. AMMONS WILL SAVE THE DAY WITH UNTRUTHS!
Anonymous said...
If I had any doubt that this website is controlled by the administration, this article makes is perfectly clear. First, President Ammons simply stating for a year that he would maintain all jobs was dangerous and hazardous to this University. Second, strategic planning is more than a PowerPoint. For example, Arts and Sciences is full of OPS faculty. That is no way to build a college. Third, hiring every freak, friend and freeloader and giving them administrative jobs was pompous and arrogant. Fourth, faculty and the union should have been included in the mix immediately. To come to faculty and the union when are backs are to the wall and then blame them and ask them for suggestions now when KNOWN has been solicited before hand is foolhardy. This problem cannot be corrected by a nickel and dime fundraising campaign.
Fundraising starts at the top. Dr. Ammons did not inherit Dr. Humphries’ FAMU nor is HE the fundraiser that Dr. Humphries was. This article is dangerous and divisive. President Ammons has run a top down highly paid administration. Let’s see what we have been paying for. Where is their innovation?
Cuts start at the top!!!
Maybe yall missed this...
ReplyDeleteFSU layoffs of tenured faculty cause a stir
Science layoffs at FSU making national news
BY DOUG BLACKBURN • DEMOCRAT SENIOR WRITER • FEBRUARY 19, 2010
State University lured Mike Wetz away from the University of North Carolina with the offer of an assistant professor position in FSU's highly regarded Department of Oceanography.
Wetz's first day at FSU was Dec. 23, 2008. Less than six months later, in June 2009, Wetz received a layoff notice.
Wetz had done nothing wrong, by all accounts. He was one of five faculty members in his 15-person department whose positions were being eliminated as FSU decided to merge oceanography, geological sciences and meteorology in the wake of massive reductions in state revenue.
Two of his colleagues being terminated are tenured, which traditionally means their positions are secure.
Geological sciences fared even worse, losing six of 13 positions including four tenured faculty. No positions were eliminated in meteorology.
"As tough as it's been for me personally, the toughest part is seeing tenured faculty laid off," said Wetz, who days after receiving his notice learned his wife, Jennifer, was pregnant with their second child. "It's been very difficult for me to see this happen to tenured faculty.
"It's totally changed my view of how academia works."
FSU's decision to lay off 21 tenured and 15 additional tenure-track faculty isn't going unnoticed. The esteemed Science magazine last month detailed how the science programs at FSU have been affected by layoffs, and how FSU is letting go of more tenured faculty than the other 10 schools in the State University System
Forget it, 2/19/2010 11:52 AM.
ReplyDeleteMost of FAMU's professors are just going to sit back and keep complaining about administrative salaries instead of doing things that will actually bring in more $$$.
The science layoffs at FSU are going to look small compared to what's about to happen at FAMU next year. FAMU's layoffs are going to cut deep and make national news too.
But hey everyone, just keep talking bad about how much the administration is getting paid. That certainly helped all the tenured and tenure-track professors who got pink slips at FSU.
FAMU faculty are at the bottom of the FAMU pecking order. They will be the first to go. It is my understanding that the FSU tenured faculty that were fired were in academic departments that were closed or merged. Here is a prediction--the Arts and Sciences departmental structure will be eliminated which will open up all Arts and Sciences tenured faculty to termination.
ReplyDeleteThat's a pretty good prediction. Areas like music, philosophy, theater, and foreign languages will probably be on the chopping block.
ReplyDeleteBut even though everyone can see the writing on the wall, forget about expecting the faculty leadership to fight for new money options (e.g: out-of-state fee breaks).
Look at the first post on this comment page. There are too many professors who just want to complain about pay in Lee Hall instead of lobbying for creative policies to make cash.
Rattler Nation,
ReplyDeleteWhile I understand your frustration with the seemingly lack of innovation from the administration and BOT, I seriously doubt that this out of state fee break will increase our revenue very much. That idea assumes more out-of-state students will choose FAMU over their in-state schools or other out-of-state schools. The current economic crisis is forcing many families to make some very tough decisions about their kids' future. I imagine many kids are opting to attend college near home to cut back on living, travel, etc. expenses.
In terms of the faculty taking a stand on these and other issues, your article fails to acknowledge the working conditions many of our faculty and staff have to endure. While many faculty at FSU teach only 2 classes of mainly upper-division and graduate students, most of our faculty have to teach at least 4 four classes, two of which may be lower division classes. Our faculty usually put in more office hours. I can go on with the contrasts in working conditions. My point is that faculty at other schools often have "time" and the resources to "fight" back. Our faculty--by the way, I'm not on the faculty--work extremely hard and produce great students with far inferior resources.
The out-of-state fee break proposal does not assume that out-of-state enrollment will necessarily go up. It assumes that a fee break will help FAMU's current out-of-state students buy more credit hours.
ReplyDeleteRemember, FAMU’s housing shortage makes college very expensive for the student body. Most students come from families that make $30,000 or less per year. But FAMU trustees simply ignore that fact and continue to approve big tuition and fee hikes that students can’t afford. That has led FAMU students to simply take smaller course loads, which hurts tuition revenue.
http://rattlernation.blogspot.com/2010/01/famu-bot-lacks-creative-vision-for.html
And while FAMU's faculty members do have tough working conditions, it doesn't take a long time for anyone to call the governor's office or email state legislators and express support for Sen. Al Lawson's proposals to close tax loopholes. It wouldn't take a long time for the Faculty Senate to approve resolutions supporting Lawson's proposals, either.
Since I was the first quote, I will attempt to be the last. Complaining about administrative salaries will not cure this problem, but blaming the problem on faculty apathy will also not solve it. Apathy permeates FAMU. Many people want a problem solved, but they want someone else to solve it; someone else to shout about it.
ReplyDeleteFSU began making strategic decisions a year ago and whether you agree or disagree with them, their administration felt these cuts were necessary for the continued viability of that University and, for the most part, these faculty members got their one year notice pursuant to the Union contract.
My point was that our administration blindly used the Obama stimulus money without making the strategic cuts which were inevitable. What I saw this past year was the hiring of one administrator after another and no university restructuring. We have been like Nero fiddling as Rome burned. We are in a recession and we are currently overly administrated and have several under producing programs.
We need the combined efforts of the FAMU community to lessen this problem, but the pledge made by Dr. Ammons to keep everyone employed may not withstand the economic realities.
And simply gathering the community in a town hall meeting, stating the problem, and exiting stage left without taking questions simply does not cut it. Remember, we have the only President in the SUS who took his bonus.
What is the similarity between President Ammons and Tiger Woods? Both gather people in a room, discuss alarming information, and refuse to take questions.
ReplyDelete"Since I was the first quote, I will attempt to be the last. Complaining about administrative salaries will not cure this problem, but blaming the problem on faculty apathy will also not solve it. Apathy permeates FAMU. Many people want a problem solved, but they want someone else to solve it; someone else to shout about it.
ReplyDeleteFSU began making strategic decisions a year ago and whether you agree or disagree with them, their administration felt these cuts were necessary for the continued viability of that University and, for the most part, these faculty members got their one year notice pursuant to the Union contract.
My point was that our administration blindly used the Obama stimulus money without making the strategic cuts which were inevitable. What I saw this past year was the hiring of one administrator after another and no university restructuring. We have been like Nero fiddling as Rome burned. We are in a recession and we are currently overly administrated and have several under producing programs.
We need the combined efforts of the FAMU community to lessen this problem, but the pledge made by Dr. Ammons to keep everyone employed may not withstand the economic realities.
And simply gathering the community in a town hall meeting, stating the problem, and exiting stage left without taking questions simply does not cut it. Remember, we have the only President in the SUS who took his bonus."
I couldn't agree with you more. We have been talking for over two years about University restructuring that could help us save money. There were proposals to merge colleges - - i.e. CESTA and ESI, but the powers that be seemingly did not want to do so, even though it would reduce the number of our excessive administration. We ignored the problem in the hopes that it would simply go away. Well, it hasn't. The state now predicts that we will have continued financial problems at least until 2013. We are in trouble. At a recent faculty meeting we were told that "it will be a totally different FAMU as of July 1" (the start of the new fiscal year). We were told to prepare for furloughs and/or layoffs. We have one of the strongest United Faculty of Florida groups in the State University System and I predict a court battle. FSU did not have a strong union and had poor faculty membership. No membership equaled no prepresentation in court. Tenure has to mean something.
UFF in a Right to Work State, ask the Lawyers about that.
ReplyDeleteIt is a shame that we continue to allow stuff like this to have happen. No wonder we are hurting fro funds and are missing the mark ao many times.
ReplyDelete