By: Brianna Metsger ’19, Staff Writer
President Lewis Thayne and members of the President’s Senior Staff held an open forum on Monday, April 10, about upcoming budget cuts.
The meeting addressed students’ concerns about how the cuts will affect LVC. President Thayne dispelled rumors about the cuts with facts about how LVC will be affected: no full-time faculty will be affected, scholarships will not be reduced, counseling services will be maintained and all athletic teams and co-curricular programs will continue.
“Our financial situation as an institution is strong, but my charge from the board of trustees is to make sure it remains strong,” Thayne said. “The cost of sustaining academic quality, financial aid and some of the new programs that we’ve added exceeds our revenue. So it’s been necessary for us to look at reallocating resources, to extend the timeline for some of these strategic initiatives and to restructure and reduce some of our operating expenses.”
Seven faculty members have signed letters of intent through a voluntary retirement program and financial aid will increase significantly for the 2018 fiscal year.
Though the meeting lasted more than an hour and a half, there were still some unanswered questions that lead to a second open forum on April 25, one week after the budget was approved by the Finance and Administration Committee.
The second forum covered topics such as the strategic planning of the budget, how faculty will be affected by the cuts, enrollment, cost of summer courses and how the cuts will affect residential life.
A powerpoint presentation was shown at the second forum meeting by Vice President of Finance and Administration, Shawn Curtain, that showed the 2018 fiscal year’s budget in contrast to past years. This powerpoint was the same material presented to the Board of Trustees and the faculty in separate meetings.
According to Anne Hayes, Senior Director of Human Resources and Title IX Coordinator, the specific departments that will be affected by the cuts are known, but will not be disclosed at this time. Those who are affected will receive a separation package that includes medical coverage, outplacement services and salary continuation for up to six months, depending on how many years they have worked at the College.
According to Michael Green, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty, the departments that are affected may call for a replacement if one is needed; however, the Senior Staff does not know who will take the retirement package at this time. Faculty who accept this package will be known by May 15, and departments that will be affected will be known by May 31.
Students seemed very passionate about the cuts’ affect on Residential Life staff and members at the second meeting. According to Gregory Krikorian, Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students, there will be no program reductions for RAs and the cuts will take less than $1,000 from the budget of Residential Life, money that is used for food, dues and general supplies. Dean Krikorian could not disclose the exact impact on area coordinating staff, but this information will be known by May 31.
“In a community like ours as we work together to make LVC a better college, not everyone will agree on the solutions,” President Thayne said. “We are committed to being as open as we can while maintaining confidentiality where we must. This is the definition of responsible transparency.”
B. METSGER
bem004@lvc.edu