Dear Clemson,
Budget recommendations made Wednesday (Feb. 24) by the SC House Ways and Means Committee offer more evidence of the deep and lasting effects of the economic downturn, with double-digit cuts to many state agencies including Clemson. The committee recommends using federal stimulus funds to partially offset the cut for 2010-11, but both they and we recognize that this is not a permanent solution.
Here is a summary of what the Committee’s FY2010-11 budget means for Clemson:
• Education and general (E&G) – recurring cut of $16.5 million; temporarily replaced with $16.5 million in one-time stimulus funding;
• Public Service Activities (PSA) – recurring cut of $6.2 million; temporarily backfilled with $2.6 million in one-time stimulus funding;
In addition, the committee did not pass a mandatory furlough for all state employees and maintained a commitment of $7 million in one-time funds for the wind turbine drive-train test facility to help match federal funding.
This means unless state or university-generated revenues improve substantially, Clemson will face cuts to core academic and service programs totaling $22.7 million in 2011-12 — $16.5 in the E&G budget and $6.2 million in the PSA budget. In that case, Clemson’s recurring state support will have been reduced by more than $75 million since June 30, 2008. State support would be approximately what it was 25 years ago, not adjusted for inflation. Yet Clemson is educating more South Carolina students, generating more research, providing more support for vital state industries such as agriculture, automotives and materials, and creating more jobs than it has at any point during the past 25 years.
We will continue our efforts with the General Assembly to show our state leaders that Clemson is part of the solution to our state’s economic problems.
At the same time, we will continue to develop strategies to further reduce costs and increase other revenues. The budget strategies team is reviewing recommendations and findings from our task forces last year, and will again engage the campus in finding solutions.
Despite the real concerns we all share about the economy, unemployment and state funding projections, we choose to remain positive. Clemson is strong and united. We have many recent successes to report, including another record number of student applications and a $45 million federal grant, the largest in Clemson history, to study and test wind turbines.
The recent “5 Presidents-State of the University” event sponsored by student government proved that this is a real working community, grounded in a well-defined mission and focused on our future. We are determined to handle the challenges ahead.
Please take the time to go to http://blogs.clemson.edu/barkers-blog/ and read the full text of my Feb. 17 comments on the state of the university.
Thank you for all you do, every day, to make Clemson a better university.
Sincerely,
Jim Barker