Brand: Cuts are painful for everyone

If Gov. Frank O'Bannon's proposed state budget cuts are approved, IU students will face an increased technology services fee, while some employees in the IU Physical Plant and at University Information Technology Services could lose their jobs.\nBut the majority of the cuts will affect administrative areas like travel expenses, supply costs and hirings, IU President Myles Brand said.\n"These cuts are painful, they're real and they're large," Brand said, announcing the cuts at a news conference Thursday in Bryan Hall.\nThough delays to fill vacancies could occur, Brand said widespread layoffs or hiring freezes are not expected.\nSeventy-five percent of the cuts will be shouldered in administrative spending, with the remaining 25 percent distributed among IU's eight campuses. Each chancellor is to reduce their budget by a specified amount.\nO'Bannon's $57 million budget cut proposal targets multiple facets of the Bloomington campus. Those most impacted by the new constraints include UITS and the IU Physical Plant. IU will also consider imposing a temporary fee on students to make up for losses in technology funding from the state. \nThe fee, which has not yet been determined, will affect all students although it will be contingent upon how O'Bannon's proposal fairs in the state legislature next year, Brand said.\nThe University will prepare for possible cuts by delaying efforts to fill administrative and staff vacancies and reducing spending on travel, supplies and equipment. Each of eight campus chancellors and vice presidents will decide on more specific steps at the local level.\n"Although these cuts will not cause major rifts, some information technology and repair and rehabilitation could be affected," Brand said. "IU is doing our part ... we will all share this pain."\nOnly necessary repair and rehabilitation to IU facilities will be made as needed, said Terry Clapacs, vice president for administration.\n"We're going to try to keep the University in the current state it's in now," Clapacs said, referring to the possibility of deferring maintenance.\nBrand stressed that the University will continue to protect faculty members by offering competitive wages to both administration and academic staff. Last year, academic faculty members were given an average 6.5 percent pay increase, while administration staff members received an increase of 3 percent, Brand said.\nBrand received a 9 percent pay increase last year, a raise that brought his salary to nearly $300,000, according to University Financial Management Services.\nBrand said in addition to cutbacks to deal with budget constraints, IU will raise tuition to help improve the university. He said raising tuition will not be used to make up for a tighter budget. \n"We will try to make the increase as affordable as possible," Brand added.\nLast summer, the board of trustees raised tuition by 7.5 percent. While Brand said making the University attractive to prospective students still remains an important goal, the school is currently at full capacity and applications deadlines could be moved up.\nAdministrators say they are looking for hard cash to help make up the possible cuts, said Karen Adams, chief of staff of the office of information technology.\n"That money will be earned through the proposed restrictions President Brand mentioned, such as reduction in travel spending and other extraneous expenses," Adams said.\nAmounts for specific cuts will be contingent upon what the state legislature decides in July, Adams said.\nThe University cannot withstand many more cuts without harm on the academic side, Brand said.\n\"The next round of cuts, if they come, will be very serious and permanently harmful to the University," he said.