The UConn Board of Trustees has approved a $1.1 billion budget for 2013-14 that continues the University’s ambitious faculty hiring plan, increases financial aid for needy students, and sets the groundwork for the Next Generation Connecticut initiative. The budget, which trustees adopted unanimously Wednesday, focuses on spending that promotes student success, research and economic development, and raising the University’s profile among top public research universities – all while reducing costs and finding efficiencies where possible.

“It is a reflection of our tenacity to accomplish our most important and pressing goals on behalf of our students, faculty, staff, and the state of Connecticut, while at the same time managing our resources wisely and strategically,” UConn President Susan Herbst said of the budget.

The new budget includes revenue and expenses for all campuses except the UConn Health Center, for which a separate budget is being compiled and will be presented to the trustees in August.

The FY ’14 UConn budget for Storrs and the regional campuses supports several key initiatives, including preparation for the Next Generation Connecticut plan. This 10-year plan involves increasing UConn’s enrollment, faculty hiring, research and economic development initiatives with a particular focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) to bolster Connecticut’s job creation, and retention.

The $1.5 billion, 10-year capital plan will enable UConn to build more laboratories, add classrooms and dorms, move the Greater Hartford campus to downtown Hartford, and enhance programs and operations at the Stamford and Avery Point campuses.

In addition, Next Generation Connecticut includes an annual operating budget component to support the addition of 6,600 students and 259 new faculty members, start an honors program for STEM students, and make other academic and research investments.

Legislation adopted this spring by the General Assembly includes funding that starts in FY ’15 to start the additional hiring, but UConn also has allocated money in the FY ’14 budget to lay the groundwork to start ramping up student recruitment, facilities planning, and related work.

The newly adopted capital budget sets aside $10 million to support planning for the move of the Greater Hartford campus from West Hartford to downtown Hartford, a transition expected to be completed in 2016 or 2017.

“President Herbst and her staff have done excellent work in strategically marshaling the University’s resources both to balance the budget and continue to fund the key long-term priorities that are so critical to the future of UConn and the state of Connecticut,” said Lawrence McHugh, chairman of the Board of Trustees.

“As UConn’s block grant has declined in recent years, the University has always safeguarded the academic core of the institution as it made the necessary cuts. At the same time, UConn is making tremendous strides forward thanks to its leadership and the amazing support from the governor and the legislature when it comes to Next Generation Connecticut, Bioscience Connecticut, faculty hiring, and the plans to relocate our Greater Hartford campus to downtown Hartford,” he said.

“This budget is all about maintaining UConn’s incredible momentum as one of the best public universities in the nation and creating a very strong future for the University, its students, and the state,” McHugh added.

In addition to laying the groundwork for Next Generation Connecticut, the FY ’14 University budget includes funding for several key initiatives including:

• Faculty hiring. The University is in the midst of a four-year initiative to hire approximately 290 net new tenure-track faculty members to generate more research that has national and international impact, increase research productivity, build graduate programs, provide high-quality teaching and service to undergraduate students, and expand course availability. Funding for the initiative comes from the four-year tuition plan that the Board of Trustees approved in December 2011.
• Financial aid. Increases in tuition are matched by increases in the amount the University devotes to financial aid to its neediest students, and UConn’s financial aid budget in FY ’14 is about $25 million above that of FY ’13. About 40 cents of every dollar collected in tuition is allocated to financial aid, with the best packages provided to in-state, low-income students.
• Economic development. ‘UConn has a key role to play in helping drive Connecticut’s economic development, and the new UConn Tech Park will serve as an incubator for new business ventures and job growth. The FY ’14 budget includes planning support for that complex, along with funding to strengthen UConn’s liaison program to link entrepreneurs with access to UConn’s wide variety of technology, resources, and expertise.

Specifics of the spending plan are outlined in the presentation that was made to the board.