Budget reduction targets and several strategic investments for 2003-04 were assigned this week to deans, vice chancellors and vice provosts by Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw following consultation with a campuswide budget planning group.
The planning targets are based on the final budget for the current year and the governor’s recommended budget for UC next year, which paradoxically includes significant reductions but retains funding for enrollment growth.
“Along with universities across the nation, as well as the public as a whole, UC Davis faces economic challenges. At the same time, it is important to keep in mind that universities are clearly one of the most stable — and most stimulating — of insitutions over time,” Hinshaw said.
“Budget fluctuations, in some ways, are similar to our individual research programs, which have highs and lows in productivity, funding, results, etc. We know how to deal with those fluctuations and keep on going, and that is just what we will do in this situation.”
Cuts to UC Davis are estimated at about $35 million — $17 million in state-targeted reductions in research, outreach and student services and $18 million in campuswide reductions in administration, libraries and core instructional needs plus an unallocated cut proposed by the governor.
In addition, the campus faces a 30 percent reduction in its Cooperative Extension budget and continued shortfalls in such critical areas as purchased utilities and deferred maintenance. Proposed increases in student fees will offset additional unallocated cuts, but will not make up any of the $35 million shortfall.
“The budget call letter defines a planning framework that will allow the campus to immediately engage in thoughtful discussions about the budget,” said campus budget officer Kelly Ratliff, assistant vice chancellor for resource management and planning.
To soften the impact of the $18 million campuswide reductions, Hinshaw will forego the usual awarding of academic support dollars and vice chancellor block grants in 2003-04, reducing the $18 million estimated reductions to $12 million.
The provost will not pass along to campus units an estimated $7 million campus deficit that has accumulated in purchased utilities — largely due to market-driven increased energy costs over the past several years. She also will provide one-time funds for deferred maintenance estimated at $1.5 million, will cover the cost of new instruction and research space and will also provide approximately $1 million to fund increases in property and other insurance programs.
The governor’s budget proposes funding faculty growth at a standard ratio of 18.7 full-time students per full-time faculty member. The provost will allocate growth in faculty consistent with 2005-06 growth targets established by academic and strategic plans, with more specific information to come this spring. The governor’s proposed budget also would fully fund summer sessions at UC Davis on a permanent basis.
“The provost’s budget planning group looked carefully at the limited options facing the campus and tried to make recommendations that were consistent with our collective goals and the broad interests of the campus,” said Steven Sheffrin, dean of the Division of Social Sciences.
The provost noted that the campus will have very little flexibility to alleviate categorical cuts specified in the state budget in the areas of state-funded research, outreach and student services.
“Investment in campus priorities is very important, even during a period of budget reductions,” Hinshaw wrote, stating she would work to mitigate some cuts with strategic allocations. These include $1.25 million to continue grant funding for graduate student support; $800,000 to the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences to mitigate organized research reductions; $500,000 to the Office of Research for activities generating new campus resources; and $200,000 to Student Affairs to partially mitigate the impact of student services reductions.
Budget targets have been assigned to all campus academic units, with plans for meeting those targets due to the provost on April 15. The provost has requested a three-year planning horizon that will allow some cuts to be phased in, but will require permanent reductions to take effect by the year 2005-06.
“UC Davis will certainly thrive and survive even in the face of economic constraints, primarily because of the critical mission we fulfill and the great people at UC Davis,” Hinshaw said.
 For more budget information, see www.news.ucdavis.edu/budget/.