President's Report - May 21, 2008

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Today the University of South Florida presented its proposals for cutting its 2008-2009 budget due to shortfalls in state revenue. We shared this proposal with staff councils, Faculty Senate, and student government, before taking it to the Board of Trustees for approval.

The decline in state revenues has affected all universities in the State University System, and indeed all universities in the country are struggling with an economic downturn.

At USF, we presented plans to cut 10.6% of our budget from "Educational and General" funds from the state. This cut was no surprise. We've planned and consulted throughout the fiscal year to reduce hiring and purchasing in preparation.

It's important to remember that this was a plan for reductions. In June, we'll finish budgets for the fiscal year that begins on July 1, 2008. In those budgets, we anticipate reinvesting funds to cover shortfalls in instruction as our highest priority.

I've attached today's presentation with further information on our process, our principles and my concerns in approaching these cuts. We will post further information on budgets as they become available.

Thank you for your support of the University of South Florida.

Read the President's report PDF

President Judy Genshaft