{"id":36567,"date":"2015-05-01T11:37:50","date_gmt":"2015-05-01T18:37:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stage.headlessnauedu-b6hgdzckfdgxgzhe.westus-01.azurewebsites.net\/?p=36567"},"modified":"2015-05-01T11:37:50","modified_gmt":"2015-05-01T18:37:50","slug":"president-charts-a-course-amid-significant-budget-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/president-charts-a-course-amid-significant-budget-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"President charts a course amid significant budget cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Northern Arizona University President Rita Cheng<\/strong> called for a strategic, campus-wide change in operations to address state funding cuts while maintaining the university’s mission in the long term.<\/p>\n

NAU will remain focused on academic excellence while using a list of budget principles in planning. Emphasis will be placed on enrollment growth and retention along with increasing revenues and making strategic investments that support educational quality.<\/p>\n

“Our financial model is going to look different as we move forward. The familiar way we have paid for our university to function will not remain intact,” Cheng said. “In response, practices you are familiar with are likely to undergo fundamental changes as well,” said Cheng during Thursday’s campus forum.<\/p>\n

Speaking to about 200 people in Prochnow auditorium and an online audience of more than 500, Cheng asked each staff and faculty member to transform ways of operating.<\/p>\n

For the 2016 fiscal year budget, Arizona legislators reduced funding to higher education by nearly $100 million. NAU\u2019s portion of the cuts is $17.3 million representing a 20 percent reduction in state funding. Anticipated future budget shortfalls could mean additional cuts next year.<\/p>\n

Academic divisions are cutting budgets by 4.5 percent and other departments will reduce budgets from 8.5 to 10\u00a0percent. When positions are vacated,\u00a0the president\u00a0wants the university community to consider if there are other ways to do the job and share the position\u2019s responsibilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are working diligently to minimize the number of reductions-in-force. Yet we have identified permanent reductions that will amount to about 60 positions, 50 of which are currently vacant,\u201d said Cheng, who announced that\u00a0the Idea Lab and the Health Policy Institute are being closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Reduction measures announced\u00a0 <\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n