Thursday, January 22, 2009
Lori Ann Pearson knew the University was making budget cuts. She knew Gov. Kathleen Sebelius had plans to cut funding for higher education by $120 million and she knew some jobs would probably be lost. But she had no idea that hers would be one of them.
“It was an absolute and total surprise,” Pearson said. “We knew budget cuts were coming, but I was just floored.”
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Across the Border
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon visited three public universities Wednesday to announce a new budget agreement between the state government and the schools. He issued a press release that said the state’s public universities would receive the same state appropriation they received in fiscal year 2009 as long as the universities pledged not to raise tuition prices or academic fees during the 2009-2010 school year. The press release did not say how the state planned to maintain its funding to universities.
Pearson, an office manager in the Office of Multicultural Affairs, has worked at the University off and on for the past 20 years, always finding it hard to stay away for too long. That’s why Pearson decided to take advantage of an offer to apply for a different position at the University. She said University staff would be helping her out by writing recommendations.
“While this is a difficult time, the University is approaching it with a lot of forethought and care for their employees,” Robert Page Jr., Office of Multicultural Affairs director, said.
He said the University was only required to give employees 30-45 days’ notice before a lay-off, but it notified employees six months before their positions would end to give them time to find a new job.
“The meeting when I had to tell Lori that her job was being cut was the hardest part because it didn’t have anything to do with performance,” Page said.
Pearson’s was one of 11 positions cut. There were also 110 unfilled positions that will remain vacant. Seven of the 11 positions cut were in the Department of Student Success.
Lynn Bretz, director of University Communications, said the jobs affected were those the state funded, not tuition dollars. As a result of cuts, she said, students could see a decrease in the availability of elective classes. Some courses that are usually offered every semester might now only be offered every other semester. The University is also limiting the number of academic conferences it will send faculty to and has started putting more things online to save on printing costs.
Bretz said after this round of cuts, the University had met the $10.8 million state-mandated budget cut.
“This means everybody has to pull together,” Bretz said. “It’s not ideal, but it’s how you get through tough times.”
— Carnez Williams contributed to the reporting of this story.
— — Edited by Kelsey Hayes
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