University to weigh priorities as workers leave positions

By MATTHEW WEAVER

Capital Press

Washington State University will absorb its share of the most recent round of state budget cuts by leaving positions open and encouraging some employees to retire, officials said.

During this year's session of the state Legislature, the university was hit with additional cuts of roughly $13.5 million, said Ralph Cavalieri, associate dean for research and director of the Agricultural Research Center at WSU's College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resources.

WSU President Elson Floyd decided to absorb the additional cuts centrally, Cavalieri said. As state-appropriated positions open up with employee departures and retirements, Floyd and the university's provost, Warwick Bayly, will decide whether to fill those positions.

An incentive program has encouraged staff and faculty to retire, so CAHNRS and WSU Extension will have some holes, Cavalieri said. The university is refreshing its list of priorities, and Cavalieri expects agricultural work will move forward, albeit at a slower pace.

"The only thing that changes is the pace at which we move upward," he said. "We have our strategic plans, we have our priorities and we're going to continue moving forward as fast as we can."

With the state budget still tight due to the flagging economy, Cavalieri said the university is aware it needs to take its share of reductions. The amount of money only controls the rate of forward movement, he said, not the direction.

Floyd is visiting with people in every county to ensure the school is engaged as the state's land-grant university in preparation for the next biennium's budget, which is uncertain at this point.

The Legislature budgets the university for a two-year period. At the start of the biennium in 2009, the Legislature cut 10.4 percent, or about $52 million, from the university budget. CAHNRS academic programs were cut by roughly $551,000, the research center was cut by $2.1 million and WSU Extension was cut by $3.14 million.

Part of the state's most recent revenue shortfall was picked up by one-time money from the federal government. If the economy picks up and revenues grow, the budget cuts may end, but Floyd and others expect the hole in the state's budget to continue for the next two years.

"We know there are going to be challenges," Cavalieri said. "Everyone concerned needs to pay attention."

The next legislative session begins in January.

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Washington State University: www.wsu.edu