IU faces $24.9 million shortfall in projected expenses

The IU Board of Trustees challenged financial officers to come up with solutions to help offset the $24.9 million shortfall for the projected expenses for 2011-12, due in part to health care costs increasing for employees at all of IU’s eight campuses.

“They’re just really escalating faster than we anticipated in terms of the money that we’re spending on health care costs,” said Philip Eskew, trustee and chairman of the Facilities Committee, during the Dec. 10 meeting at IU-East Richmond.

Eskew said the trustees are going to look at all the plans and consider adding incentives to push people into one plan or the other, or change plans all together.

Another major issue discussed was the continuing cost of repairs and renovations to the eight campuses and the future of these projects.

“We either have to stop building new buildings or we have to get more money from the state,” Eskew said. “We have to find some money because if we can’t maintain them, in the future we might have to close them down.”

Eskew said the University feels it needs $50 to $60 million from the state just to maintain the buildings it already has.

“We have just got to find funds from the state that will help us to maintain and renovate,” he said. “The state has said they’re not going to give us any money. If they give us no money then we’re really hurting.”

After discussing the campuses financial issues, the trustees approved a design plan for a neuroscience research building on the IU-Purdue University Indianapolis campus as well as a project approval for renovations to the restrooms at McNutt and Teter Quads.

These project plans had been discussed during the trustees first day of meetings on Dec. 9.

“It’s part of that overarching life sciences, health care curriculum that is now so important at IU,” said Robin Gress, executive secretary to the Board of Trustees, about the plans at IUPUI.

The trustees also approved plans for a proposed purchase of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house on Third Street to be a possible site for a Maurer School of Law expansion.

“We’re going to start the process of purchasing,” Eskew said. “That involves dealing with the Phi Gams and their leadership and see if we can’t find a location that they would be happy with that they could build on near the campus.”

One of the final things discussed was a resolution to negotiate a new contract for President Michael McRobbie.

“Essentially it’s a contract till the year 2017,” Eskew said. “He’s done such an excellent job here that we wanted to make sure we had a contract that extended for another seven years.”

The trustees will meet again in February at IUPUI.