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Provost assures that biennial budget wont touch staff, students
Randhawa discusses recent $13.4M in budget cuts, promises that tuition will not increase in this school year
Candice Ruud
Issue date: 3/6/09 Section: News
An interview with Oregon State University Provost and Executive Vice President Sabah Randhawa
Q: What is the current economic situation at OSU?
A: I think first of all this needs to be put in a more global perspective. I think the entire country and the state of Oregon are facing a difficult situation. Just looking again at that context, we need to remind ourselves that we are part of the broader economy and the broader system. It's going to have an impact on the institution, but given the broader situation, everyone is on the same boat. We need to make sure we manage the situation as best as we can so we don't come out the other end as a mediocre university.
Some of the key aspects are to retain best faculty and advance our academic programs.
We won't know where things stand until next biennium when the May forecast comes out. It's going to be challenging for all institutions - public and private. If the current forecast holds, we are looking at about a 20 percent reduction in revenue in the state. The current cuts we have taken are based on a 5 percent reduction. So even if we were able to backfill some of the deficit, we still would be dealing with a minimum of 10 to 15 percent reduction.
Q: What changes are going to be made?
A: It's a little early to predict exactly what changes we are going to make. I'm going to invite a group to work with me soon for the next biennium, and certainly part of that group will be the ASOSU president and faculty senate president. Some of the guiding principles that we keep in front of us are going to be to focus on students and ensure their success, and ensure that we don't impact a lot of the core courses so their graduation isn't impacted.
Also, we want to be able to retain and recruit some of the best faculty to ensure the success of the institution.
Finally, we are in the process of completing a strategic plan to use as a guide in terms of making sure to take care of the opportunities that exist for us.
Q: What is the current economic situation at OSU?
A: I think first of all this needs to be put in a more global perspective. I think the entire country and the state of Oregon are facing a difficult situation. Just looking again at that context, we need to remind ourselves that we are part of the broader economy and the broader system. It's going to have an impact on the institution, but given the broader situation, everyone is on the same boat. We need to make sure we manage the situation as best as we can so we don't come out the other end as a mediocre university.
Some of the key aspects are to retain best faculty and advance our academic programs.
We won't know where things stand until next biennium when the May forecast comes out. It's going to be challenging for all institutions - public and private. If the current forecast holds, we are looking at about a 20 percent reduction in revenue in the state. The current cuts we have taken are based on a 5 percent reduction. So even if we were able to backfill some of the deficit, we still would be dealing with a minimum of 10 to 15 percent reduction.
Q: What changes are going to be made?
A: It's a little early to predict exactly what changes we are going to make. I'm going to invite a group to work with me soon for the next biennium, and certainly part of that group will be the ASOSU president and faculty senate president. Some of the guiding principles that we keep in front of us are going to be to focus on students and ensure their success, and ensure that we don't impact a lot of the core courses so their graduation isn't impacted.
Also, we want to be able to retain and recruit some of the best faculty to ensure the success of the institution.
Finally, we are in the process of completing a strategic plan to use as a guide in terms of making sure to take care of the opportunities that exist for us.
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