{"id":23245,"date":"2010-10-19T10:26:02","date_gmt":"2010-10-19T14:26:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=23245"},"modified":"2010-10-22T08:22:20","modified_gmt":"2010-10-22T12:22:20","slug":"presidents-letter-to-university-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2010\/10\/presidents-letter-to-university-community\/","title":{"rendered":"President’s Letter to University Community"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/strong><\/p>\n

TO:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The University Community<\/p>\n

FROM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Philip E. Austin<\/p>\n

It is now approximately four months since I assumed my responsibilities as interim president.\u00a0 Fall semester is in full swing, the hub of the Storrs campus looks like one of the most active construction sites in the country, new faculty and students have settled in, and many of us are already engaged in planning for the next academic year.<\/p>\n

As I said last June, I expect my tenure in this position to be relatively brief, and in terms of my own role this is not a time for dramatic new initiatives.\u00a0 On the other hand, a university as dynamic and ambitious as ours cannot stand still and all of us have an important role in maintaining our momentum.\u00a0 We hope to continue succeeding in that regard.<\/p>\n

I want to report briefly here on the major challenges and opportunities that we are dealing with this term and that will, most likely, occupy us through the 2010-2011 academic year.\u00a0 A few may come to resolution in that time; others will await the new president and his or her administration.\u00a0 But all of them merit the attention of faculty, students, staff, and friends of the University.<\/p>\n

The Economic Environment and the University Budget<\/span><\/p>\n

On June 10, the day before I moved into the interim presidency, the Board of Trustees approved Fiscal Year 2011 Spending Plans and Fiscal Year 2012 and 2013 \u201cAppropriations Requests\u201d for the Storrs-based programs and for the University of Connecticut Health Center.\u00a0 The FY 2011 figures are relatively firm\u2014i.e., barring unforeseen calamities, not likely to alter much as the year proceeds.\u00a0 The requests for FY 2012 and 2013 are much more tentative, almost certain to change dramatically depending on economic and political events.\u00a0 Still, the request represents an important starting point for development of final spending plans for those outlying years.<\/p>\n

I had no role in developing these budget proposals, but I endorsed them and, with respect to FY 2011, am working to implement the Board\u2019s decisions.\u00a0 It goes with my job description to<\/p>\n

say that the University should be receiving a higher state appropriation and that resource limitations impede our ability to achieve goals important for our students and the people of Connecticut.\u00a0 That is true.\u00a0 But in my opinion the budget approved by the Board reflects the best possible reconciliation of multiple competing needs:\u00a0 to keep tuition and fees to affordable levels; to maintain essential services\u2014including, at the Health Center, clinical services; to recruit and retain outstanding faculty; and, at the most fundamental level, to protect the integrity of our teaching and research programs.\u00a0 The FY 2011 spending plan, which includes just over $1.032 billion for the Storrs-based programs and $787.3 million for the Health Center, permits us to do all these things.\u00a0 The proposals for FY 2012 and 2013 will, if approved without much modification, allow us to continue and expand our efforts.<\/p>\n

That said, we do have some special budgetary challenges this year.\u00a0 Most are due to the economic slowdown and problems confronting the state.\u00a0 For the Storrs-based programs, these include a State-imposed mandate that we transfer to the State a total of $23 million <\/strong>in so-called \u201creserves\u201d by next July 1.\u00a0 In reality, the University has only minimal resources that could truly be called \u201creserves\u201d\u2014that is, funds held aside without specific commitments attached to them.\u00a0 The vast majority of the $23 million represents funds set aside for much-needed infrastructure improvements. Unless the State changes its directive, we need to change our plans in order to meet this mandate.<\/p>\n

The largest component of the University\u2019s budget\u2014about 55% for the Storrs-based programs\u2014is the cost of personnel.\u00a0 This leads to a second challenge.\u00a0 This year the University will increase personnel expenditures by about $19.3 million (including fringe benefit costs) <\/strong>due to collective bargaining increases, a well-deserved enhancement in compensation for dedicated faculty and staff who have deferred prior-year increases to help address Connecticut\u2019s and the nation\u2019s economic crisis.\u00a0 In past years the State has routinely increased its grant to the University to cover this cost.\u00a0 Not so in 2010-11. The State provided the Storrs-based programs with $233 million this year, the same amount as last year (not counting the $23 million rebate discussed above).\u00a0 \u00a0Thus we had to absorb added personnel costs <\/strong>in our operating budget.\u00a0 The spending plan approved by the Board addressed this problem, but at the cost of deferring other important needs.<\/p>\n

At the Health Center, while most attention is now focused on the new collaboration with Hartford-area institutions and sorely-needed construction of new facilities, the academic, research and clinical operations proceed at a high degree of distinction (discussed below).\u00a0 This year\u2019s budget reflects a modest ($1.6 million) increase in State funding, largely in recognition of such structural challenges as a high proportion of Medicaid patients at John Dempsey Hospital.\u00a0 <\/strong>An ongoing \u201cvalue analysis\u201d project is examining ways to reduce costs and enhance operations, and several energy conservation efforts are yielding long-term savings in the operating budget.<\/p>\n

Similarly, at Storrs and the regional campuses, despite our challenges we are making major progress in key areas.\u00a0 Provost Nicholls has authorized 55 faculty searches for new hires effective in Fall 2011, filling some of the positions vacated through the early retirement incentive program and other faculty departures in the past few years.\u00a0 (Another 55 searches are proceeding for non-faculty positions.)\u00a0 Our student-faculty ratio, which we would like to hold at about 15:1, has been hovering between 17:1 and 18:1 for the past five years; the 55 new faculty will move us back in the right direction.\u00a0 There has been modest funding for some other new initiatives, such as for the growth of our undergraduate honors program, an increase in the number of Living and Learning communities (combined residence hall\/academic settings geared to students with specific interests), and membership and participation in \u201cUniversitas 21\u201d\u2014a prestigious international network of universities in fifteen countries that creates exceptional opportunities for collaboration and exchange.<\/p>\n

Moreover, the University continues to explore cost-savings and efficiencies, particularly in areas that are not part of our central research and teaching mission.\u00a0 At the direction of the Board of Trustees we are implementing a \u201cStrategic Redesign Initiative\u201d to determine how we can better fulfill administrative functions, and to this end we are in the process of retaining an external consultant to oversee a detailed <\/strong>study of our non-academic operations.\u00a0 More information will be provided as this project proceeds.<\/p>\n

Let me add three final points.\u00a0 Our immediate fiscal concerns are as real as they are challenging.\u00a0 But I urge all my colleagues\u2014and I will urge the new president\u2014to bear in mind a set of fundamental realities that are probably more significant for the University\u2019s long-term future.\u00a0 First, without doubt the State of Connecticut has serious budgetary problems\u2014but they are nowhere near as severe as those in many if not most other states.\u00a0 The data can be spun fifty different ways, but the essential reality is that Connecticut is one of the most economically advantaged states in the union.\u00a0 Over the long haul our state is well positioned to maintain an excellent flagship public university, adequately funded and positioned for excellence.<\/p>\n

Second, over the past twenty years most of Connecticut\u2019s political leaders have come to realize the vital role UConn can play in enhancing the state\u2019s economic position\u2014as well as its quality of life.\u00a0 That realization led to passage of UCONN 2000 and 21st<\/sup> Century UConn and it provides the basis for the potential advances at the Health Center.\u00a0 I hope and believe it is still a strongly-held view.\u00a0 Of course we will hear much in this political season\u2014and, no doubt, in the next year\u2014about the need to use resources wisely and cut costs where we can.\u00a0 I do not disagree with those goals.\u00a0 But I am confident that if we continue to present our case clearly and forcefully, our elected leaders and the public at large will avoid the temptation to achieve short-term savings at long-term costs.\u00a0 And an informed public will support them in that determination.<\/p>\n

Finally, as noted above, despite our fiscal challenges UConn continues to recruit faculty and staff, and, as is appropriate at a university like ours, the hiring process engages literally hundreds of members of the community who serve on search committees or are otherwise engaged in the selection of outstanding new colleagues.\u00a0 Our zeal to fill the 55 faculty and 55 non-faculty positions must include a renewed commitment to diversifying our institution.\u00a0 While we have recorded successful hires through the Provost\u2019s Faculty Excellence and Diversity Program and other means, the reality is that our overall diversity demographics have not moved ahead as we would have liked.<\/p>\n

Change in this area requires thoughtful and deliberate attention to strategic recruiting and departmental hiring processes for every position.\u00a0 I call upon every faculty or staff member appointed to a search committee to be proactive and creative in discharging their duty to conduct full, open searches designed to build broad and diverse applicant pools.\u00a0 From these pools, of course, the search committees and hiring departments must then choose the best candidate for the job.<\/p>\n

The UConn Health Center<\/span><\/p>\n

Recent months have been a time of\u00a0 transformative action at the University of Connecticut Health Center.\u00a0 The legislation approved by the General Assembly and signed by Governor Rell last spring created a \u201cUConn Health Network\u201d umbrella and now paves the way for the first major renovation and expansion project in the history of John Dempsey Hospital.\u00a0 It also brings together a set of innovative instructional, research and clinical initiatives to address health issues in the Greater Hartford area through the new \u201cUConn Health Network.\u201d<\/p>\n

I have long believed that UConn cannot be a great university without an outstanding academic health center that includes first-class Schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine and an excellent, on-site hospital that fulfills both clinical and teaching functions.\u00a0 Dempsey has long been an institution of exceptional quality, but it is one of the smallest university hospitals in the country, limited in terms of the number of patients it can serve and not as well-structured as it needs to be to meet the space demands of 21st<\/sup> century medical technology.\u00a0 Its expansion is essential not only to the ongoing fulfillment of its academic function, but to the long-term financial viability of the Health Center as a whole.<\/p>\n

The plan approved by Connecticut\u2019s elected officials came after long deliberation and close consideration of competing alternatives.\u00a0 By providing for the addition of 50 new medical-surgical beds, it will help Dempsey meet critical resource needs in the coming years.\u00a0 Moreover, the new facilities called for will provide increased teaching space, ease of access for medical equipment, and enhance patient privacy.<\/p>\n

Several important steps are now underway to transform the promise of the State\u2019s commitment into reality.\u00a0 Following a fully competitive bidding process, the Health Center has awarded a contract to an architectural firm, Steffian Bradley Architects-HKS,\u00a0 that will design the new patient tower.\u00a0 Once the firm begins its work, Health Center faculty and staff will have the opportunity to provide both conceptual and detailed input into this project.\u00a0 Vice President for Health Affairs and Dean of the School of Medicine Cato Laurencin has made clear his commitment to assuring that all his colleagues have the opportunity to share their ideas and insights.<\/p>\n

Concurrently, the Health Center and Connecticut Children\u2019s Medical Center have submitted a joint Letter of Intent to the Connecticut Office of Health Care Access as the first step toward filing an application for a Certificate of Need for Connecticut Children\u2019s to be the licensee for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Special Care nursery beds located at the Health Center and, in turn, to add more medical-surgical beds to the Health Center\u2019s license.\u00a0 The details are complex, but the basic concept of this collaboration is that neonatal care will continue to be offered on the Health Center campus but the unit will administratively be part of Connecticut Children\u2019s, which has an established leading role in neonatal services in our region.\u00a0 Our two institutions have shared a close relationship for many years, and we are now entering a new phase\u2014one that will be guided by our shared values and commitment to excellence in all aspects of clinical care, education, and research.\u00a0 We are hopeful that the Certificate of Need will be approved within a few months.<\/p>\n

Another, equally important effort involves our application for $100 million in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funding for the John Dempsey Hospital renewal project and the UConn Health Network.\u00a0 Our overall plan, as approved by the General Assembly and Governor, provides for upgrades to the existing hospital as well as the construction of a new patient care tower. <\/strong>The total projected cost is $362 million.\u00a0 For the Dempsey renewal plan, the State has committed $207 million and the Health Center is contributing $25 million from its 21st<\/sup> Century UConn <\/strong>institutional funds.\u00a0 For the UConn Health Network, the State is providing $33 million in bonding.\u00a0 The remaining $100 million must come from other sources and the allocation of State funds is contingent on receipt of this non-state support.\u00a0 Among the provisions included in the federal healthcare reform legislation approved early this year is language advanced by Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd that provides funding to assist academic medical centers with construction projects.\u00a0 Only one $100 million grant will be made, but this is not an earmark.\u00a0 Eligible institutions\u2014and there are several across the country who fit the federal government\u2019s guidelines\u2014must compete for this funding.\u00a0 Our application was submitted on October 4th<\/sup>. <\/strong>Our case is a strong one, our documentation is equally strong, and I am cautiously optimistic that our efforts will meet with success.<\/p>\n

With this and other aspects of the UConn Health Network underway, the Health Center\u2019s basic work proceeds at its customary level of distinction.\u00a0 A new school year began in August, with outstanding new cohorts\u201489 new medical students and 50 new dental students\u2014joining us.\u00a0 The fiscal year that ended on June 30 marked the first year in which the Health Center received more than $100 million in external research funding.\u00a0 And new research facilities are making it possible to develop and expand the work of the UConn Stem Cell Institute, the Richard D. Berlin Center for Cell Analysis and Modeling, and the Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology.<\/p>\n

Fundraising<\/span><\/p>\n

The University of Connecticut Foundation is now about thirteen months into the public phase of its $600 million campaign, labeled \u201cOur University.\u00a0 Our Moment.\u00a0 The Campaign for UConn.\u201d\u00a0 Thus far approximately $230 million <\/strong>has been raised.<\/p>\n

I cannot overemphasize the importance of private philanthropy to UConn\u2019s continuing progress as we deal with long-term limits on State support and an ongoing effort to keep tuition and fees affordable. Nor should I understate the challenges that confront a campaign of this magnitude at this point in time.\u00a0 Economic downturns always have an impact on philanthropy; that was the case in the early 1980s, the early 1990s, and in 2002-03.\u00a0 But those in the field report that the current climate is characterized by an unprecedented degree of anxiety.\u00a0 How long that will last is anyone\u2019s guess.<\/p>\n

UConn\u2019s $230 million in receipts and commitments, while short of where we expected to be at this point when the Foundation developed its benchmarks in the pre-2008 era, nevertheless represents notable success in the current economic climate.\u00a0 \u00a0As is the case with all effective fundraising efforts\u2014and as was certainly the case with the UConn campaign that concluded in 2004 and generated $326 million <\/strong>in various types of support\u2014a strong campaign requires a combination of clear objectives closely linked with an overarching academic plan and\/or facilities plan, an effective fundraising structure, and close linkage with all key segments of the university community.\u00a0 The current effort has all three.<\/p>\n

The campaign is, in fact, grounded firmly in the key elements of the academic plan adopted by the University two years ago. <\/strong>Early in the formative stages the Foundation leadership met with each of the academic deans to determine what each school or college hoped to achieve during the period covered by the academic plan, and to identify priorities that were fundable and potentially attractive to donors.\u00a0 In each case the focus was on what would be required to elevate the school or college, and the University as a whole, to the next level of national or international stature.\u00a0 A theme that goes across the entire institution is the need to recruit an ever more diverse and outstanding cohort of faculty and students, enhance teaching, research and public service programs, and continue to improve facilities even beyond what UCONN 2000 and 21st<\/sup> Century UConn have made possible.<\/p>\n

Many members of the University community are only vaguely aware of how the Foundation\u2019s fundraising effort is organized and this sometimes creates the impression that major gifts come in randomly or as the result of good luck.\u00a0 That may happen occasionally, but it is rare indeed.\u00a0 In fact, the Foundation devotes more than 50% of its fundraising staff (about 12-15 people at any given time) to major gifts fundraising, with each person either assigned to a specific school or college or assigned to a specific area (e.g., the Honors Program or Libraries) or a region.\u00a0 Other staff are assigned to the Annual Fund, raising current operating funds for scholarship, student affairs, cultural and student enhancement programs such as study abroad.\u00a0 This model, fairly standard at major universities, has been in place here for about 15 years\u2014the period in which we have moved from an $8 million <\/strong>annual support level with a $40 million <\/strong>endowment to our current level of about $50 million <\/strong>per year and an endowment that stood at $246 million <\/strong>at the end of the 2010 fiscal year.<\/p>\n

How the funds are invested is equally important.\u00a0 Four full-time professionals, assisted by several graduate student interns, guide our investment management program under the direction of a very active Investment Committee of the Foundation Board of Directors and with the aid of a roster of fund managers contracted by the Foundation to handle various types of investments.\u00a0 The challenges confronting investment managers are, of course, unprecedented in the current environment, and it is a point of special pride that the trade magazine Foundation and Endowment Money Management <\/em>recently cited the UConn Foundation as one of three nominees for Small Nonprofit of the Year.<\/p>\n

The UConn Foundation is, of course, the primary agent in raising and managing private support.\u00a0 Fundraising is, however, also a clear responsibility for many others within the University.\u00a0 Deans, department heads, senior administrators\u2014and presidents\u2014all have an important role in communicating the University\u2019s aspirations and needs and, often, in bringing major philanthropic relationships along.\u00a0 But faculty, staff, and even students have played a critical part in shaping institutional priorities and identifying areas of focus.\u00a0 The current campaign is an ongoing example of a University-wide approach to generation of private support.\u00a0 In this context, I cannot fail to mention the generous support that so many members of the UConn community\u2014faculty and parents in particular\u2014are providing as the Foundation moves toward its $600 million goal.<\/p>\n

Let me close by mentioning just a few major gifts that have come to us since the public phase of the campaign began in September 2009.<\/p>\n