Memo to Senators
From Dick Walton, for ECOS
President Dennison's proposal to revise the manner in which the University's budgets are prepared was briefly described by V.P. Scott Cole at the December Senate meeting. There was a good deal of interest in the proposal on the part of the members of the Senate, but time did not permit adequate discussion or opportunity for the Senate to express a position.
On Wednesday, December 16th, ECOS met with President Dennison to discuss his proposal, a plan to which he was at that point quite committed. We urged upon him several revisions, both of the membership of the two committees which would replace the former Budget and Planning Committee, which had already been disbanded, and the committees' charges. After lengthy discussion, the substance of our suggestions was accepted. On the following day, the President announced the final disposition of the new budget and planning process. His memorandum and the accompanying committee descriptions are now posted on the Senate Web site (links to these documents appear at the bottom of this note). If you are unable to access them there please call the Senate Office (5553) and Andre will get you a printed copy immediately.
There is now a position on the Executive Planning Council for a member of ECOS, selected by ECOS. ECOS has designated me to serve this year. The Strategic and Budget Planning Committee now includes 6 faculty members, the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Senate, and 4 additional faculty members selected by ECOS. Those persons are Nader Shooshtari, Richard Barrett, Burke Townsend and Susan Mueller. The Executive Planning Council met December 18th for nearly four hours. It settled upon basic parameters for the fiscal years 2000-2001 budgets and other aspects of the tasks to be passed to the Strategic and Budget Planning Committee. That committee meets for the first time on January 21st. Its initial order of business is to elect a chair.
ECOS would have preferred that the committee structure which emerged from its December 16th meeting with the President go before the Senate for its endorsement before the committee assignments were made and their work begun. That simply was not possible, given the need to have the budgeting process well along before the Legislative session is mature, and to have a budget completed before the end of this fiscal year. It is the considered judgment of ECOS that this procedure and apparatus for establishing the University's budget is sound in conception. Much remains to be seen from the actual workings of the process, of course. However, we have approved the new structure on behalf of the Senate, appointed the faculty members, and are pledged to do our part to make it successful. We ask the Senate's support of our action.
ECOS would ask the Senate, too, to join with us in expressing our pleasure in seeing the commitment to the principles of shared governance from which President Dennison's implementation of the new budgeting process derives.
Pertinent Documents
