Campus Economic Outlook

Campus Economic Outlook

October 30, 2008

Dear Colleagues,

You have recently received a message from President White on the economic outlook for all of the campuses of the University of Illinois.  He has charged leadership of each campus with the task of designing contingency plans to cover whatever financial realities we ultimately face in light of the declining state and national economies.  I write to you today to assure you that thoughtful planning is under way with our campus administrators including the vice chancellors, the Chancellor's Cabinet, the Council of Deans, and directors and department heads. Representatives of the faculty, staff, and students will also be involved through the Senate and other advisory bodies.

I have personally experienced this situation twice before - once here, once elsewhere - and on each occasion I saw a stronger institution emerge.  This is possible again if the answers to the financial questions we face are grounded in sound institutional principles and values. We must (and will) find ways to respond to our financial circumstances that build on our accomplishments of recent years, allow us to continue our forward movement, and protect our missions of teaching, research, economic development, and public engagement. 

Should we face this challenge, we will have to make prudent, focused decisions. We must examine anew what is most important to our missions and our aspirations, what must be protected, and where investments must still be made. Guided by the campus' strategic plan we developed a shared vision for this institution which requires us to:

• assure student access to a quality education across all income levels; 
• safeguard the quality of our faculty and the education we offer; 
• secure the base of excellence for which we are justly known-our research activities and related engagement with the public;
• and preserve our capacity to selectively invest in high potential endeavors.

The means by which we implement these principles will need to be devised through careful collaboration under our shared governance model. One thing is clear: we will need to engage our collective entrepreneurial energies to seek additional sources of funding. Hence greater efforts to raise resources from individuals, the private sector, foundations and agencies, must be encouraged.  And to that end, we must continue to argue that public higher education is a social good and an essential investment in meeting society's critical needs. This is not a time for retrenchment or scaling back our aspirations for the future. The next several years will be challenging ones for all of us, but if we manage our way wisely through this challenging time we will emerge on the other side positioned to move ahead rapidly as new funds become available.

I am asking each of you to be sensitive to others in this trying time and recognize that there may be members of our community who are experiencing a particularly stressful period.  Please look at how work is accomplished within your unit and share your suggestions as to how to work smarter, with greater economies.  Mindful that personnel, equipment and utilities comprise the largest components of our expenses, I ask that, where possible, you delay creating new jobs, filling vacancies, or making equipment purchases and to redouble our efforts to conserve resources on campus.
 
Your excellence and dedication are our most valuable resources for addressing the challenges that this period brings. The campus has for a long time been a wonderful place to make a career. The larger economic downturn will not, and cannot, be allowed to change that. 

Very truly yours,

Richard Herman
Chancellor