| |
Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:
I write to update you on the March board of trustees meeting, much of which focused
on the college’s financial planning. In light of the growing severity of the
economic situation, the board has asked us to accelerate our planning process and
present a concrete set of recommendations in May that will permanently lower our
annual operating costs. They would like us to be able to implement the plan within
two years rather than three.
Here are the financial planning decisions reached to date and the work we must complete
before the close of the semester.
For 2009-10, we will, at minimum:
- Freeze salaries (with the exception of promotions)
- Eliminate inflation allowances
to departmental budgets as well as funding for new initiatives
- Take measures to
keep the tuition discount rate steady
- Scrutinize our staffing needs across the college.
We have already begun to reduce the number of temporary faculty and will need to
sharply reduce, if not eliminate, tenure track searches. While I had initially
hoped not to have to make staff reductions in the 2009-10 year, the sharply declining
economic situation has made this unlikely.
- Keep our endowment spending within
the normal cap of 6 percent.
The tasks before the campus’s major planning committees,
particularly ACRA/CMP, are to recommend a strategy to close a $3 million gap remaining
in the 2009-10 budget and address a much larger shortfall we face in 2010-11. Our
plan must close a potential gap of $30 million, and we must be prepared to address
an additional $10 million gap should the economy continue to weaken. As outlined
in my January 28 letter, budget areas under discussion include:
Study abroad: To reduce costs while maintaining the centrality
of international study to the Smith experience, we are considering options such as
direct enrollment in overseas programs, especially in English-speaking countries;
alternatives to our home school fee policy; and different staffing models and other
efficiencies for some of our JYA programs.
Employee benefits: Savings could be
realized through changes to our health insurance plan for the 2010 calendar year
that would hold its overall costs steady; elimination of the Emeriti retiree health
insurance program; a reduction of 1 percent in retirement contributions; capping
tuition benefits for employees’ children;
and eliminating the campus school tuition subsidy. Any changes to tuition benefits
would be accompanied by plans to implement those changes over time in order to ease
the impact on families relying on them.
Consolidation/cooperation: In these
extraordinary times, the Five College presidents are committed to developing much
deeper integration and consolidation among our institutions and have issued a statement
calling for a new strategic vision of Five
Colleges, Inc. In
the academic realm, we have identified some 15 departments where integration
of curricular planning and upper division course work would enable us to continue
to offer high quality programs despite low student enrollment on individual campuses.
We are actively pursuing opportunities on the administrative side, and in libraries
and information technology, where shared functions or positions have the potential
to create significant economies.
Administrative and support budgets: At my request, senior managers
have reviewed their budgets to propose significant reductions. These reductions,
and the very real tradeoffs they represent, will be part of ACRA/CMP’s discussions.
Facilities: Smith has the most square footage per student of any
of its peers, in both the academic and residential sectors. To inform ACRA/CMP’s
deliberations about space reduction, Ruth Constantine is convening a group to formulate
ideas about consolidating our space uses so that we can close, sell, or lease some
of our facilities.
Student/faculty ratio: An increase in the student/faculty ratio
will be a major parameter of our budget plan. Reducing the size of the faculty will
be among our most difficult challenges and will require academic planning in concert
with our deliberations about Five College integration and consolidation. Making final
decisions about the specific mix of reductions of temporary and tenure track positions
is not something we can complete this year but it is urgent work nonetheless.
On April 10, ACRA/CMP will participate in an all-day retreat, joined by Board Chair
Cornelia Mendenhall Small ’66 and a number of other trustees, to integrate
their thinking into a clearly defined set of options. Those will be presented to
the community so that, by May, we will have a plan that demonstrates how we can reduce
the budget by $30 million over a two-year period.
In the meantime, there are things I would ask of each
of you. Foremost, stay informed and make your views known. The members of CMP/ACRA
are very interested in the ideas sent to planning@smith.edu, which are posted, without
attribution, on the financial planning site.
In addition, we are holding periodic budget forums for staff and students. For example,
from 10-11 a.m. March 18, Staff Council will be hosting a forum for staff in Seelye
201. All forums will be announced on eDigest and on the financial planning site.
These are your opportunities to ask questions of me, Ruth Constantine, Larry Hunt
and others and to help us understand the concerns of the community.
One budget saving suggestion that I have already taken, with regret, is to suspend
the annual employee picnic until resources allow us to hold it again. In addition,
I am very sympathetic to the many suggestions to reduce paper and printing in favor
of electronic communications via eDigest and the Gate, a strategy that is both fiscally
wise and environmentally sustainable. Facilities Management is continuing to focus
on renovations and upgrades that will generate significant energy savings and conserve
resources.
Even as we focus on the specifics of significant cost
reductions, it is vitally important for us to take a long view of the future of Smith,
an institution that has responded with remarkable resilience, throughout its history,
to difficult times. There is no question that we face long-term challenges -- a growth
in expenses that exceeds growth in revenues, the affordability of a Smith education
for students and their families, and a highly competitive admissions environment.
But there is much to celebrate as well. While applications to a number of peer institutions
have declined, Smith is reviewing the largest pool of applications in its history
-- 4, 008 -- a group that includes significantly more international applicants
than usual. We are moving forward, with the full support of our board, in planning
to launch a fundraising campaign within the year. When admitted students visit the
campus this spring, they will see an institution that has continued to invest in
its faculty and staff, its academic resources, and its facilities -- including
Ford Hall, whose opening we will celebrate next fall -- all in service of the extraordinary
and transformative education that Smith provides.
Sincerely,
Carol T. Christ
|
|
Speeches & Writings
Letters
to the
Community
Senior
Administration
Office
Staff & Hours
Biography
Community
Advisory Board
Related Links
Responding
to the Financial Environment |
