A time of transition

Today it is my honor and privilege to begin my service as the interim chancellor of the University of Kansas for the next six weeks. Yesterday marked the close of Robert Hemenway's tenure as the 16th KU chancellor. He will be on or near campus enjoying a sabbatical year after which he will return in the fall of 2010 as a professor of English.

Words are inadequate to express our appreciation for Chancellor Hemenway's remarkable 14 years of service, a time during which KU's regional and national academic reputation has grown tremendously and our research capabilities have been greatly enhanced.

I know that growth will continue when Bernadette Gray-Little becomes the 17th chancellor of KU. I'm sure you all share my excitement and anticipation of the arrival of Chancellor Gray-Little. At that time, August 15th 2009, I will return to my full-time job as executive vice chancellor and dean of the school of medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

In the meantime, to fulfill the responsibilities of interim chancellor, I will be on the Lawrence campus approximately three days a week and at the Medical Center the other two. I will remain in close contact with the Lawrence campus leadership throughout and delegate additional responsibilities to the team at the Medical Center as needed.

July 1st also marks three other major transitions. First Dr. Danny Anderson becomes the interim provost, a vacancy created by Dr. Richard Lariviere's departure to become the president of the University of Oregon. As those of us attending last week's Board of Regents meeting noted, he has already begun the seamless transition into this office and we are very glad to have someone of his caliber at KU.

We also welcome today our new dean of the School of Medicine at KU's Wichita campus, Dr. H. David Wilson, who comes to us from his previous position of dean of the School of Medicine at the University of North Dakota, a post he held for the last 14 years. I'd also like to thank once again Dr. Fred Chang for ably handling the interim deanship in Wichita.

The last transition is that Dr. Greg Simpson assumes the role of interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. We all look forward to working with him, as well.

Although summer offers a lightened load of regular meetings and briefings, let me assure you that with the assistance of interim provost Danny Anderson, the Lawrence campus vice provosts and deans, and the full complement of leadership at the Medical Center, the day-to-day oversight of KU will proceed normally.

The main issue facing us as we prepare for the coming academic year is the ongoing state budget crisis. KU's budget is $31.5 million less this year than it was just a year ago. This represents a 10 percent reduction and translates to cuts of $19.4 M on the Lawrence and Edwards campuses and $12.1 M on the Kansas City and Wichita campuses.

KU leaders have worked together to carry out the difficult task of reducing staff and operations, seeking efficiencies and reallocating tight funds. Unfortunately, there is a very real possibility that the state may need to make additional cuts. We now know that there is at least a $126 million shortfall in Kansas state revenue. We will learn more about what this means for higher education when Governor Parkinson holds a news conference tomorrow at 11 a.m. and then after the State Finance Council meets July 6.

For that reason, I have scheduled a university budget forum at noon on Wednesday, July 8, in Alderson Auditorium to which the KU community is invited. We will have a brief presentation of the issues and news followed by questions and answers. I hope to see as many of you there as possible.

If you can't attend in person, the forum will be streamed live on the Web, with details on how to watch at http://www.chancellor.ku.edu/budgetforum/. The forum will also be shown live in the School of Nursing Auditorium at KUMC and in the Wichita Room at the School of Medicine-Wichita.

You're also invited to submit questions by e-mailing chancellor@ku.edu. After the forum, a recording of the event will be posted on http://youtube.com/KU.

We will all continue to seek to protect the academic and research missions of the university through prudent fiscal management and the collective strength and ideas of the KU community. I have full confidence that the university will weather this economic crisis.

During this period of transition and our current tough economic times, there is much we can be thankful for, and perhaps the greatest of all is the dedicated and talented faculty and staff of this university. Thank you for all you do and best wishes.

Barbara F. Atkinson, MD
KU Interim Chancellor and Executive Vice Chancellor for the KU Medical Center