What can you do?

Inform yourself:   e.g. analysis of administration’s (ab)use  of RCM

Come to events:

June 7, 3:30 PM in Emerson Hall Room 215: Save UF will address the Board of Trustees in a public comment

June 8, 10:30 AM in Emerson Hall Room 215: Board of Trustees will pass their final decision.

Submit  news items to this website via saveuf@googlegroups.com

Petition to Save UF Jobs,   Follow us on Facebook

Write a Letter to the Editor:
Gainesville Sun Opinions Editor: Ron Conningham, cunninr@gvillesun.com
Alligator Opinions Editor: John Hayes, jhayes@alligator.org

Write/Call President Machen’s Office (352) 392-1311

Questions for Administration: Open Letter from UFF

Dear Colleague,

In a message to you a couple of weeks ago I listed a number of questions to which I suggested members of the university community – faculty, staff, students – deserved an answer.  The chief ones, of course, were why the administration is not drawing on the university’s reserves to cover the temporary budget short-fall — as the legislature expects and as other SUS institutions are doing, — and why it is alone among these institutions to continue large-scale hiring while cutting existing programs.

Since I wrote, UFF-UF has been studying the university’s audited financial statement and other reports by the administration.  As a result, a number of additional questions have arisen.

First, while UF’s financial statement, certified by the state auditor general, gives the amount of unrestricted funds held by the university at the end of the fiscal year 2011 as $110 million, according to the Gainesville Sun ”UF officials reported to the Board of Governors that it had $67.3 million remaining in reserves as of December.” Apparently, $42.7 million has been spent in the six months preceding the legislative session.  The administration should tell us what it deemed worthy to have nearly 40% of UF’s reserves spent on it at a time when budget problems were widely anticipated.

Second, while the administration is correct that $40.8 of the remaining funds must be held back to maintain a reserve equaling 5% of its education and general revenue operating budget, as required by law, we must ask abou the remaining $26.5 million. All we have heard is that it is “pledged for research lab upgrades, equipment purchases and other commitments”.  Again, we should be told what these commitments are and why they are so important that the reserves should go to them, rather than to cover the short-fall without resorting to the draconian cuts some programs are threatened with.

Third, under the new RCM accounting system, funds generated by tuition go in part to the President’s “strategic fund.” How much is in that fund and why can it not be used to cushion the temporary short-fall?

Fourth, the most recent RCM data from the administration shows that large amounts are held in the colleges under the headings “carry forward” and “strategic funding”. These amounts ($10.6m in CLAS, for example, $3.5m in Engineering… for a total of some $42 million across the colleges) comfortably exceed the cuts being threatened. What are these funds for and why can they not be drawn on?

Last, but perhaps most important because of the amount involved, we should be given information about the category of “restricted expendable” funds listed in the university’s financial statement.  The label suggests that these are not wholly unrestricted, as is the $110 million,  but also not wholly restricted. The amount for UF alone, excluding Shands and other “component units,”  is a whopping $540 million and is found under the informative label “other”. If even a small part of it is available to cover the short-fall, we should be told why it is not being so used.

As before, the administration’s claim that the cuts it is planning to impose are unavoidable rings hollow in the face of its refusal to provide candid answers to questions such as these.  We call on it to do so, if it wants its much-vaunted “shared governance” to retain a shred of credibility.

Sincerely,

John Biro
United Faculty of Florida President

Money Talks: UF pays higher admin well above median salaries for their positions

 

A recent article in the Gainesville Sun noted that Provost Glover (who received a $50,000 raise in 2010, bringing his total salary up to $350,000) was among many colleagues in higher administration to bring in a shockingly high paycheck in 2010.

Matt Fajack, UF’s chief financial officer, received a $51,000 raise, raising his salary to $255,000.

Win Phillips, who was promoted from vice president for research to senior vice president and chief operating officer earned a $20,000, bringing his salary to $375,000 in fall of 2011.

Finally, David Guzick, senior vice president of health affairs, received $28,000 boost in 2010, raising his salary to $728,000.

According to the article*,

Fajack said administrative salaries at UF are a reflection of the university’s complexity and a need to be competitive in keeping talented people.

“We’re a $4.3 billion operation, and that’s a very complex operation,” he said. “It demands some of the best people, and you have to pay for it.”

We who are proponents of spending the reserves do not doubt that running the University of Florida is a complex operation.  Luckily, the article also took the time to outline how various higher administration employees’ salaries compare to the national averages of other complex universities.

Bernie Machen, UF President

2011: $432,808
Median doctoral: $392,150
Difference: $40,658

Joseph Glover, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs

2011: $350,000
Median doctoral: $281,162
Difference: $68,838

David Guzick, senior vice president for health affairs

2011: $728,000
Median doctoral: $541,419
Difference: $185,581

The University of Florida claims that it is in a financial crisis, which is why budget cuts have been proposed that would close two libraries and lay off staff and delay services like financial aid disbursement and building repairs.

President Machen has been very public about wanting to raise tuition to the national average.  It would seem to follow that if UF wants its students to pay the national average, higher administration should be expected to follow suit.

*Salaries are reported by UF, comparisons come from national averages of median salaries for administrative positions, with the closest comparable position.

 

FSU and other state universities plan to use reserves to cover these one-time cuts

FSU and other state universities plan to use reserves to cover these one-time cuts

UF appears to be one of the only universities that is not using reserves to cover this year’s budget cuts.  In total, legislators withheld $300 million from state universities this year in a one-time cut based on the money they had in reserves. UF administrators have maintained that this loss will be recurring.  However, a recent article shows that schools like FSU are using reserves to cover these one-time cuts, as the Board of Governors and Florida lawmakers have suggested.  As JD Alexander, Senate Budget Chairman, explains, “…what we did is said, ‘Give us $300 million back out of the $859 million in cash you were sitting on.”

A financial administrator at Florida State University explained that their long-term financial plan “involved building up our reserves, which we are now using to cover this one-year cut to our recurring state support.”  Both New College and UCF are also planning to use some of their reserves to cover these temporary budget cuts.

New College and UNF both mentioned using attrition to cover some of the budget cuts.  Accordingly, UF appears to be the only university to be hiring as usual, with over 100 job postings while other universities have posted 2 (FIU), 1 (FSU, USF, UCF, FAU, UNF, Florida A & M, and FGCU), or 0 (UWF) new positions (http://spendthereservessaveuf.wordpress.com/2012/05/03/uf-advertises-in-the-chonicle-of-higher-education/)

Meanwhile, UF remains obstinate in its refusal to use reserves.

We want to know why President Machen and Provost Glover are claiming they have no choice in forcing the state’s $38 million cuts onto the backs of students, faculty, staff and graduate assistants.  It appears that other universities have been innovative in finding solutions to this one-time budget reduction.  If UF claims to be a leader in higher education, why are they lagging behind?

Did Provost Glover need a $50,000 raise last year?

Does Provost Glover need to be making $350,000 a year? 

According to UF’s published administration salaries, Provost Glover made $300,000 in 2010 
http://www.afn.org/~afscme/0310salaries.pdf (p. 5)

In 2011, Glover’s salary went up to $350,000 in 2011
http://www.ir.ufl.edu/factbook/v-14_salaries.pdf (p. 5)

Does a Provost need this kind of raise while the rest of the university is cutting salaries?  The University of Florida needs to explain how this figure reflects its priorities as an institution of higher education, and one of the top research universities in the nation.

UF Claims Budget Crisis, Searches for 102 New Hires

Higher administration maintains that UF is in a place of financial crisis, which justifies millions of dollars in proposed cuts to faculty, graduate assistants, staff and library facilities, starting this July.  However, UF’s hiring patterns tell a slightly different story.  The Chronicle of Higher Education reports 102 job postings at the University of Florida.  Of these job postings, 77 were posted in the last 30 days and 10 went on the site in the past week.  Other Florida universities that are facing one-time state budget cuts appear to be holding off on hiring.  FIU is hiring two new positions, while FSU, USF, UCF, FAU, UNF, Florida A&M, and FGCU are each posting 1 position.  UWF has not advertised for any additional faculty or staff hires.  Why is higher administration choosing to make so many additional faculty, staff and administration hires when they are proposing severe, immediate cuts?

http://chronicle.com/jobSearch?contextId=61&facetClear=1&searchQueryString=&position=&location=&postalcode=32608&within=10

UF on hiring spree while declaring budget crisis

currently open positions  according to the Chronicle of Higher Education:

UF    102          

other Florida universities: FIU 2,   FSU ,USF ,UCF ,FAU,UNF,FA&M,FGCU each  1,   UWF   0

UF Stands Together, Fights Back

On Wednesday, April 25, University of Florida students, faculty, graduate assistants and staff rallied to demand UF administration spend money from the reserves instead of cutting faculty, staff and GA positions.  Because the Board of Governors stated that these were one-time cuts, they could be covered using funding from UF’s reserves totaling over $1 billion

(The amount in the reserves come from this past year’s official UF audit, linked under the May 1 post, “UF: Financially Unhealthy?”)

The rally was covered in the Gainesville Sun:   http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120425/ARTICLES/120429723?tc=ar

As well as WUFT
http://www.wuft.org/news/2012/04/25/protestors-call-for-uf-to-spend-reserves-before-cutting-programs-and-employees/

CLAS Cuts: Forum Thursday (5/2) at 2:30 PM

The $5.5 million in proposed budget cuts to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences are being discussed at a public forum Thursday, May 3, at 2:30 in the Reitz Union Auditorium.  Please come to hear how your department will be affected, and to voice your concerns on UF’s choice to cut research at one of the nation’s top universities.

UF: Financially Unhealthy?

UF continues to argue that it is in a state of financial crisis.  However, UF’s financial statements for the last fiscal year, as reported by UF and an independent auditor, tell a different story.

Highlights:

• The University’s assets totaled $3.0 billion at June 30, 2011.  This balance reflects a $122.0 million, or 4.2%, increase from the 2009-10 fiscal year.
• The University’s operating revenues totaled $1.5 billion for the 2010-11 fiscal year, representing a 6.1% increase over the 2009-10 fiscal year.

Access the full report here:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/1RQNsvT-httnVk0QRRZvlzTkti66p-ESVYW_Cly60JOXY1Qn3Dp21CrPVj4qy/edit?pli=1