Spring Break
Budget minimally affects students
by Jillian Wagner
News Editor
News | 10/21/08
Posted online at 4:04 AM EST on 10/21/08
Two weeks after President Jehuda Reinharz projected a $10 million gap in the Brandeis operating budget for the fiscal year 2009, administrators are still focusing on the University's goal to "avoid affecting students in terms of the core teaching and academic experience," according to Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe.
In a campuswide e-mail sent on Oct. 3, Reinharz wrote, "I have approved a plan to close the gap this fiscal year. The plan calls for the use of one-time resources of $5 million, and another $5 million to be provided through expenditure reductions." Reinharz also wrote, "I have asked that the majority of the reduction target be accomplished through expenditure reductions in such areas as equipment, consultants, memberships, travel, events and supplies." The areas of these expenditure cuts will not affect students directly.
According to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter French, the only department that will be exempt from any expenditure cuts will be Public Safety.
Jaffe said, "We produced the operating budgets that individual departments have. These [include] things like seminars, colloquia, office equipment and, to some extent, pizza at student events or academic events like Meet the Majors. [The individual departments] will have less money to spend on those things. They will decide how they would like to cut back, but they have to cut somewhere."
Jaffe said, "We also suspended most of the searches that we had begun for new faculty for next year. We had had 16 searches underway, and we're still trying to figure out how we're going to handle all of those, but something like 10 or 12 of those [searches] will be suspended for a year."
According to an Oct. 7 e-mail Jaffe sent to Brandeis faculty members, "Departmental and other operating expense budgets will be cut by an average of 20 percent."
Jaffe also explained that the University has terminated the Arts and Sciences Faculty Travel Policy, which enables faculty members to make school-related travel arrangements with Brandeis' travel agency, Carlson Wagonlit Travel. Any faculty members who were "previously approved will get their money, but people who have not yet been approved will not," he said.
In a campuswide e-mail sent on Oct. 3, Reinharz wrote, "I have approved a plan to close the gap this fiscal year. The plan calls for the use of one-time resources of $5 million, and another $5 million to be provided through expenditure reductions." Reinharz also wrote, "I have asked that the majority of the reduction target be accomplished through expenditure reductions in such areas as equipment, consultants, memberships, travel, events and supplies." The areas of these expenditure cuts will not affect students directly.
According to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter French, the only department that will be exempt from any expenditure cuts will be Public Safety.
Jaffe said, "We produced the operating budgets that individual departments have. These [include] things like seminars, colloquia, office equipment and, to some extent, pizza at student events or academic events like Meet the Majors. [The individual departments] will have less money to spend on those things. They will decide how they would like to cut back, but they have to cut somewhere."
Jaffe said, "We also suspended most of the searches that we had begun for new faculty for next year. We had had 16 searches underway, and we're still trying to figure out how we're going to handle all of those, but something like 10 or 12 of those [searches] will be suspended for a year."
According to an Oct. 7 e-mail Jaffe sent to Brandeis faculty members, "Departmental and other operating expense budgets will be cut by an average of 20 percent."
Jaffe also explained that the University has terminated the Arts and Sciences Faculty Travel Policy, which enables faculty members to make school-related travel arrangements with Brandeis' travel agency, Carlson Wagonlit Travel. Any faculty members who were "previously approved will get their money, but people who have not yet been approved will not," he said.
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