Dear Members of the University Community:
During the past weeks of market turmoil and grim financial headlines, many of you have expressed concerns about the volatile state of the economy and what impact it will have on the University. With the release of the latest state revenue forecast on Wednesday, we now have a clearer picture of what we can expect. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the news is not good. The projected deficit for the state during the next biennium is much higher than anticipated. The budget shortfall is now expected to be more than $5 billion, up from $3.2 billion. While Washington state has so far weathered the economic downturn better than many other states, there is no question that Washington is now feeling the brunt of a bad global economy. Our state faces serious economic challenges, and it will take a concerted, strategic approach to overcome them.
For us in higher education, the economic outlook for the immediate future is chilling. As we approach the next biennium, Governor Gregoire has instructed us and other state agencies to begin to prepare for serious budget cuts. Some numbers being floated around suggest that the state’s higher education budget may be cut by as much as 20%. For the UW, that would mean a loss of $167 million over the next two years out of our total projected base biennial budget of $835 million from the state. Cuts of this magnitude would be unprecedented, and we will do absolutely everything in our power to see that they never reach such proportions.
To deal with these difficult issues, we will turn to our core values of collaboration, innovation, and integrity. Our priority in dealing with any reductions will be to maintain what is most important and reduce what is least important. We will also turn to you. A number of people on campus have already mentioned to me ways they have found to do things more efficiently. We all need to follow their example and look for new economies. Our goal is to find creative ways to reduce spending and still sustain our commitment to excellence.
Continue reading “State budget challenges”