E-mail Notice
The notice below was originally shared with the university community via e-mail.
December 20, 2006
Budget Update
Dear HSU Community Member:
As you know, I recently invited Manuel A. Esteban, our former Provost and
the President Emeritus of CSU Chico, to spend a few days on our campus to
advise us about the budget reductions we must make in order to bring our
expenditures into line with our revenue for the 2007/2008 fiscal year that
begins July 1, 2007. Dr. Esteban sent me a report that is available to you
online at http://www.humboldt.edu/~hsupres/. I urge you to study his
recommendations carefully. This web site also contains a link to a
confidential survey where you can enter your ideas on how to reduce our
expenditures.
Earlier this semester I made a presentation on the budget situation and also
distributed a list ofpertinent questions and answers. I encourage you to
review those documents as well so that we can proceed with a shared
understanding of the important issues and challenges facing HSU. You can
access those documents along with other information and communication about
the budget at http://www.humboldt.edu/~budget/Pages/News.htm . There is additional
budget information available on the University Budget Office's web site at
http://www.humboldt.edu/%7Ebudget/home.htm .
In addition to the steps outlined in the Q and A and other documents, I have
asked the vice presidents to look very carefully at any future hires
including faculty, staff and administrators. Also, I have asked them to
review any nonessential travel requests. I anticipate that we will keep
these requests in place until the beginning of the new fiscal year in July.
Such requests will be re-examined when we have determined how we are going
to achieve a balance between our expenditures and our revenue for next year
and into the future.
I also have asked the University Budget Committee to consider proposals for
budget reductions and reallocations from the vice presidents and my office
and to make recommendations to the University Executive Committee and me by
March 20th. We also intend to consult widely with various constituencies on
campus in the latter half of February before recommendations are made to the
University Executive Committee. It is our intent to make our decisions about
the 2007/08 budget available to the campus on April 2nd.
This spring semester we will face many difficult decisions. We have a
collaborative and open process in place that will help render these
decisions. Humboldt State University has the opportunity to become better
prepared to face the financial challenges of the future. I believe that
through this process we can also make what we offer to our students more
relevant and of higher quality.
While the budget realignment draws much of our attention, let us not lose
sight of the many encouraging signs of momentum. Our marketing and
recruitment efforts to attract more students to HSU are beginning to work.
This year's freshman class was the largest in HSU's history, and freshman
applications for next year are up nearly 14 percent compared to last year at
the same time. This is nearly twice the increase that the CSU as a whole is
experiencing. Despite a downturn in transfer student applications for the
CSU, HSU's transfer applications are holding steady. For the spring
semester, the average student load is up to 14.5 credits compared to 14.23
credits at this time last year. While we will not meet our enrollment target
for this year (7,014 FTES), these efforts have moved us closer to our target
than we have been in the past.
The positive signs are not limited to enrollment. The number of alumni who
have made a gift to the University has increased dramatically. Through
mid-December, 1,977 alumni have made contributions this fiscal year,
compared to 1,976 for the entire fiscal period last year. Assets under
management by the HSU Advancement Foundation are now over $20 million
compared to just over $13 million when the Advancement Foundation was
officially started in March 2005. Faculty continue to excel in teaching and
research with numbers of HSU scholars receiving awards and professional
accolades. Thanks to designated bond, government, and gift funding, HSU will
complete construction of the new behavioral and social sciences building in
the spring; HSU's new 16,000 square foot Boating Instruction and Safety
Center will soon be completed; the new renovations to Science Building B
have received positive reviews; construction is well underway on the new
physical education building; and the new campus gates and kiosks have
improved the way newcomers are welcomed to the campus. It would be nice if
some of these designated capital funds could be used to help with our
operational deficit, but the laws guiding the use of such funds prohibit us
from doing so.
Thank you for taking time to read Dr. Esteban's report. It contains many
good suggestions and much wisdom. I am also grateful for your input and for
what you do for our students, the university and the community. I wish you a
very happy and productive new year.
Sincerely,
Rollin C. Richmond
President
cc: Manuel A. Esteban
President Emeritus, CSU Chico