May 07, 2008
To: All UT Faculty and Staff
From: President John Petersen
This is a difficult time for the state, and funding challenges are real.
It has been clear from the outset of the current legislative session that, based on revenue shortfalls, resources would be limited. That situation worsened over the past few weeks.
At this point the governor is in the process of presenting a budget to the legislature that will include a reduction in funding available to the University. There likely will be other impacts on higher education.
The governor is expected to announce details of his budget presentation on Monday.
Our priority and commitment are to preserving the quality of education and programs at the University of Tennessee and to you-the people required to sustain them. Because of that, we are asking state officials for flexibility in making required budget cuts so that we can have selected rather than across-the-board reductions. We are now asking our campus chancellors and other leadership to decide how their organizations or units would make necessary spending cuts.
Budget cuts will affect tuition levels, making increases unavoidable.
While any tuition increase impacts students and their families, we are carefully considering how to meet University expenses while minimizing the cost burden on students. We are committed to keeping increases at the minimum necessary in the face of funding reductions-and increased costs of fuel and other supplies.
We will have to make difficult choices, but we appreciate being given the opportunity to identify areas for reduction rather than have them imposed on us. We will be creative and innovative in maximizing the resources available-and in protecting the well-being of employees and maintaining the quality of our programs.
Over the previous two years, we have enjoyed a time of exceptional progress in fulfilling our responsibilities to educate the state's workforce and drive economic development. It's critical to the future of the state that we sustain our momentum and not take a backward step.
We will keep you informed as we finalize budget considerations in the days ahead. If you have questions, concerns or suggestions, please contact your supervisor. Or feel free to forward information directly to me. We value your input and want you to know all the information available.
Please share this message with colleagues who may not have e-mail access.
Thank you for all you do for the University of Tennessee.
— John Petersen
