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Provost Meredith Hay and President Robert N. Shelton reponded to a recent faculty poll at Monday's Faculty Senate meeting.

By Alexis Blue, University Communications
October 7, 2009

Provost Meredith Hay and President Robert N. Shelton told the Faculty Senate on Monday that they will work to increase communication with faculty about decisions related to the University of Arizona's budget and the Transformation Plan and stressed the importance of the campus community working together in difficult times.

"I heard the message loud and clear from the faculty that I must do a better job communicating. I believe that to my core," Hay said, referring to a faculty poll on how the administration has handled challenges facing the University. About 31 percent of faculty responded to the 10-question online poll last month.

Hay and Shelton said they have read all the poll's comments and are prepared to work with faculty and other members of the campus community to deal with the University's ongoing budget struggle.

The UA has lost about $100 million in state funding over the past two years and campus leaders anticipate further permanent cuts in state support.

"This is the most serious situation that this University has ever faced in terms of the budget," Hay said. "If we don't come together and have serious conversations about how we navigate these waters – with the students, with the faculty leadership, with the staff leadership – about how we do this, we will all fail."

As part of the effort to strengthen communication, Hay said she plans to start meeting with representatives from each college twice a week, including faculty, staff and students, to hear their concerns and have a dialogue on issues facing the UA.

"There is nothing more important in my life right now than helping us all get through this together," she said.

Shelton, too, acknowledged the importance of communication in the campus decision-making process.

"I understand the need not only for better communication but more timely communication as we go forward, and, like the provost, I pledge to act on that," Shelton said.

He encouraged faculty members to share ideas for handling the budget crisis. While the UA received $60 million in federal stimulus money this year and expects an additional $50 million next year, that support will run out in 2012.

"If you think we've had challenges so far, you ain't seen nothing yet," Shelton said. "We need to pull together. I need to know that I'm getting the best collective wisdom I can from this group."

Wanda Howell, chair of the faculty, said it is important for the administration to seek out that "collective wisdom" in order to make shared governance at the University work.

She called for greater collaboration, not just communication, as the University moves forward in the face of challenges.

"We need to really collaborate, not (just) communicate. And in my view that means that you really listen and take each other seriously. We too often don't do that," she said.

One budget issue that has drawn significant concern is the distribution of differential cuts across campus, Howell said.

This semester, colleges and vice presidential units were handed cuts of 0, 2, 5 or 7 percent based on criteria that tried to lessen the impact on three types of units: those with the ability to generate new external revenue, those that have the greatest outreach and impact on Arizona residents and those most likely to have a positive economic impact on the state through job creation and growth. 

In response to concerns that certain campus programs are destined to fail under those criteria, Howell called for a change in the way differential cuts are distributed in the future, saying a set of criteria must be developed that can be applied consistently across campus to judge a unit's worth.

"If you really want to invest in excellence, we can help her (Hay) identify that," she told the senate.