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Regents, Smith give more optimistic outlook on budget

By Nikie Johnson
Senior Staff Writer

In contrast to the many dreary pictures being painted about the effects of Texasi impending budget crisis on UH, Board of Regents Chairman Gene McDavid gave faculty members a much more optimistic outlook.

"Today is not what itis going to be like for the rest of our lives," he said Wednesday at the Spring Faculty Assembly, which is sponsored once a semester by the Faculty Senate.

His remarks focused on the search for a new UH president and UH System chancellor, but he also assured faculty members that UH would make it through the economic crunch.

"It will not be possible to avoid the effects of the (budget crisis)," McDavid said. "But UH will achieve the best possible outcome."

He talked some about the search process for a new CEO, which the regents are in charge of. After praising President Arthur K. Smith, who will retire in September, McDavid said the regents are looking for one characteristic more than anything else in potential candidates.

"The main No. 1 is leadership," he said. "That has to be it."

He said the Presidential Search Advisory Committee should identify three to five finalists, and the regents expect to hire one of them by late June or early July.

He also answered a question about the possibility that state lawmakers may decide to let universitiesi Boards of Regents set their own tuition, instead of setting it themselves. McDavid said he understands the tuition deregulation initiative is "dead on arrival" in the Legislature.

Smith, in his remarks to the faculty, said the same thing, but added he thinks there is a good chance that universities will have greater flexibility in setting tuition.

Part of the tuition is set by the Legislature, and part is set by the regents but capped at a certain amount. Smith said UH, along with Texas Tech and Texas A&M universities, has proposed that the cap be raised significantly to let schools make up for money they might lose to budget cuts.

"The worst case scenario would be a double-digit budget reduction and no tuition flexibility," he said.

Smith also talked about what UH is doing to comply with the stateis demand to cut 7 percent of its general revenue budget for the current fiscal year, which will end Aug. 31.

The amount UH has to cut is actually less than the administration had first thought, he said, but they canit make the cuts from where they originally planned to do the most belt-tightening. They are now "busily trying to find ways" to make the cuts, he said.

After McDavidis and Smithis remarks, the Faculty Assembly adjourned and the monthly Faculty Senate meeting convened. Dean of Libraries Dana Rooks gave an update on the progress of the M.D. Anderson Memorial Library expansion project, and the Senate resolved to continue its financial and moral support.

"Itis going to be a dramatic and remarkable change," Rooks said. She gave a presentation on what the addition will look like and what benefits it will afford the campus.

She also encouraged faculty to get out the word that fundraising is still going on. UH committed $25 million to the project, and the library was charged with raising the remaining $20 million. In the last two-and-a-half years, Rooks said, they have raised $17.8 million. If they can raise $1.5 million by the yearis end, the Kresge Foundation will donate the last $500,000. Rooks felt adamant that she would be successful.

The next Faculty Senate meeting will be at 12:15 p.m. April 16 in the Farish Hall Kiva. Vice President for Administration and Finance John Rudley and Athletics Director Dave Maggard will be the featured speakers.

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