In my last memo, I said I would follow-up by talking about the November budget cut of 3.9 percent and our ability to deal with it. In effect, that happened December 6 with the distribution of a news release that was widely reported the next day in local newspapers.
Just to recap, we have lost $18.8 million in state funding this year (7.73 percent), and have eliminated 159 positions and scaled back various programs. As I stated in the release, "With the first allotment reduction in August, we intentionally did more than we had to in anticipation that worse news would follow. Acting as we did, when we did, spread out the impact of the two reductions we've now been given."
Our planning enabled us to avoid additional layoffs at this time. We're not sure the current fiscal year cuts are over, however. One thing is certain: the pain and impact of the cuts has been real, and we must fight the further erosion of our state funding. Another certainty: KU will continue to rely upon the commitment of its people to endure these challenging times. Our strength continues to lie in people -- from the most distinguished faculty to the most hardworking unclassified staff or classified employee -- who have made KU a place worth caring about.
As we approach the holiday season, look around you and think about the people with whom you work. That's what I've been doing lately, thanks to Ruby Anderson.
Ruby Anderson is the housekeeper for the Chancellor's Office and the second floor of Strong Hall. (She also cleans the basement of Strong, the Public Safety offices in Carruth, Max Kade House, and KANU.) Ruby, who lives in Lawrence, works from 5 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. She has been at KU for 13 years, takes great pride in her work, and does her job extremely well. She always greets me with a smile and we chat about the university. We've talked about KU's budget constraints and how the spaces she is responsible for used to be cleaned five times per week. Now it is only twice each week. Ruby says the people in these offices are helping out, but it is still a little sad. "It used to just sparkle," she says, "now it just doesn't look the same."
Recently, we've talked about how KU people survive in the face of a budget that provides no salary increases, and how important it is for KU to push for salary increases this year for everyone. In fact, rising co-payments for health insurance actually mean a salary cut. These are hard times, no question about it.
There is some consolation in knowing that hard times are not new to Kansas. In the Depression of the 1930's, faculty and staff routinely suffered salary cuts. The university as a whole received a 25 percent reduction in 1933, and faculty experienced a 10 percent salary cut. For the next four years, salaries were frozen at the reduced rate.
Somehow KU survived the Depression, and became a major American university. How did this happen? I think it had something to do with our sense of community. In 1931 the Chancellor's cabinet raised $10,000 in contributions for a student loan fund to help near-destitute students. "Keep the Student in School Week" urged people to give students odd jobs.
What was true in 1931 remains true today. KU is a great university because its people care about each other, and look for ways to help each other.
Both Ruby Anderson and Bob Hemenway have important jobs at KU, and each of us depends upon the other. As a friend of mine, another KU employee, Roger Martin, says, "KU employees are radically interdependent and this interdependence creates mutual respect."
As we go about our jobs in these hard times, take notice of all those who make your success possible.
Roger Martin has said it well, in an email to me: "If the hallways weren't swept and the toilet bowls cleaned, if the receptionist did not route the calls and keep the schedules, if the librarians didn't shelve the books, if the machinist did not turn the lathe, or the lawns keeper rake the leaves, or the IT specialist keep the electrons traveling, faculty would not be able to teach courses, write books, or discover new cures.
"We are far more dependent than we realize on the fact that we are supported, day after day, week after week, by KU employees who don't get their names in the paper, who don't win special awards, who don't go to conferences and workshops, who don't get surprise visits from the Chancellor. Yet, without them, KU would be in chaos."
I'm asking you to think about those who make your job possible, people who, in many cases, are less protected from economic adversity. Appreciate them and take what they do to heart. What we are going through is not unique, and any Kansan can tell you, hardship has been here before. Don't let the KU sense of community get lost in the hard times. Care about everyone, like Ruby Anderson and Roger Martin, who makes KU a special place.
Best wishes to you and your family for happy holidays and a joyous New Year!
Bob Hemenway
Chancellor
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