Unprecedented, Massive Cuts Devastate University of New Orleans

While barely covered in the local media, the University of New Orleans is facing another round of brutal and devastating cuts, quickly transforming an already-under-resourced school into a shadow of its former self. Below is a letter from UNO President Peter Fos outlining some of the cuts. While this letter attempts to spin positives out of the situation, the basic facts are clear: public education at every level in Louisiana is under the most major attack in our state's history.

To: All Faculty, Staff and Students
From: Peter J. Fos, President
Date: August 14, 2012
Re: Budget Reduction Plan

I am announcing the University’s budget reduction and savings plan that will total approximately $12 million by the end of the current fiscal year. The cuts are due to a reduction in the University’s state appropriation of $9.3 million and increases in retirement costs, fringe benefits and other mandated expenses as well as an expected moderate decline in enrollment for the fall 2012 semester.

These represent the most significant budget cuts in the history of our institution. We undertook this process with great deliberation, intent on preserving the academic core of the University. We solicited feedback from both academic and non-academic  personnel. And we were still faced with some very difficult choices. I am disappointed that that we have been forced to eliminate instructor and staff positions, but we simply didn’t have any choice. We remain committed to maintaining academic quality and giving our students the best university experience possible.

The University’s total operating budget this year totals approximately $111 million. Although state approved tuition increases allowed under the LA Grad Act have increased self-generated revenue to $71 million of the school’s budget, these adjustments have not been sufficient enough to offset an overall decline in state support to the University.

The budget reduction plan includes incentivized faculty retirements (projected to be approximately 25), incentivized classified staff retirements (projected to be approximately 28), elimination of vacant faculty positions (30), terminal contracts to faculty (5), elimination of funding for graduate assistantships (26) and elimination of non-classified staff (16, including 5 in administration), resulting in a cumulative savings of $3.3 million.

Other savings will be achieved through several approaches including:

•             Mandatory annual leave for seven days for staff and administrators. This will allow the University to close buildings during Spring Break and Lundi Gras to save on utilities (expected savings of $100,000).
•             Outsourcing the University bookstore. This is expected to be completed by December 2012(pending approval of University of Louisiana Board of Supervisors). The immediate impact will be a cash savings of $500,000.
•             Anticipated lease of university property to third party (pending approval of University of Louisiana Board of Supervisors); expected to bring in $100,000 to $120,000 annually.
•             Reduction in adjunct faculty budget ($250,000)
•             Reduction in travel expenditures by 47% ($329,000)
•             One million dollar contribution from the UNO Foundation to the general scholarship fund

The remainder of the shortfall will be made up through a series of efficiencies and increases in self-generated revenue.

This process has been especially difficult because of the cumulative effects of the budget cuts over the past several years. Since January of 2009, our state appropriation has been cut approximately $28 million. But as you can see by the measures we are taking, we are not simply cutting our way out of this predicament. We have also identified areas where we can generate revenue to help offset the cuts.

I am grateful for the hard work and dedication of our faculty and staff, and I am thankful for our talented and diverse students. UNO has a history of overcoming obstacles and, while this challenge may be unprecedented, we will certainly persevere once again.

Vote on SUNO/UNO Merger Expected Tomorrow

From our friends at the Save UNO Coalition:
The Save UNO Coalition encourages everyone who opposes the SUNO/UNO merger and supports higher ed to email or call your reps and senators today! The bill that would merge SUNO and UNO is going up for discussion and a vote in the house most likely tomorrow, and will be up in the senate soon. But, they need a 2/3 majority of each to pass this, and it looks tight. We really could make a difference and win this fight to keep both institutions open and protect a vital historically Black institution.

Below you can find links for your reps/senators and their contact info, as well as a form letter. Please personalize if you are able, and it also helps to add if you are a student, grad, parent, faculty, or staff at SUNO or UNO.

We would so appreciate it if you could take two minutes to send an email, and even more helpful would be to forward to any lists you're on and to ask your organizational members, family, friends, and coworkers to please make their opinions heard. It's close, but I really think we can win this one. Thanks so much!

Find your Louisiana representative and senator:
http://www.legis.state.la.us/district/zipcode.asp

Find their contact info:
For the house: http://house.louisiana.gov/H_Reps/H_Reps_Email.asp
For the senate: http://senate.legis.state.la.us/Senators/e-mail.asp

Sample Letter:

Dear ___________,

As your constituent, I urge you to vote NO on HB 537 and SB 183, to oppose the merger of Southern University of New Orleans (SUNO) and the University of New Orleans (UNO); and to fully fund all institutions in Louisiana’s public higher education system.

Merging the two universities will create higher administrative costs for consultants to advise to the transition, rather than funneling money into maintaining and improving the many excellent programs that exist at both institutions. Estimates for the total cost of the merger process are largely unknown and greatly underestimated in the proposed legislation. Furthermore, SUNO’s role in the community as an historically Black university is extremely important. It should be protected and able to decide it’s own direction as an autonomous institution. The current version of the merger also threatens UNO’s position as an important research institution.

Transferring to the University of Louisiana (UL) system is not a viable alternative to improve New Orleans higher education. This transfer would lead to further cuts to funding and would destabilize tenure for our dedicated faculty. The Jindal administration severely cut state general fund support for higher education in 2009, most notably resulting in a 30% budget reduction, from $67 million to $45 million for UNO that was covered by federal stimulus money -- stimulus money that members of the Jindal administration criticized as wasteful government spending. Instead of an expensive merger followed by more cost cutting, state general fund support to UNO, SUNO, and the entire system of higher education in Louisiana should be restored to 2008-09 levels.

There is no evidence to show that the proposed merger of SUNO and UNO will ultimately improve the quality of public higher education in New Orleans, protect the integrity of our respective institutions, or save money. I urge you to invest in Louisiana’s future by funding both institutions and maintaining their accessibility to working class students. Oppose the merger and vote against HB 537 and SB 183!

Sincerely, _____________

Save UNO Coalition Rally and Block Party for Higher Education This Wednesday

From our friends at the Save UNO Coalition:
The Save UNO Coalition, a group of students, staff, faculty, alumni, and friends of the University of New Orleans will be holding a rally and block party for higher education on Wednesday, October 6th, at 12:30pm at the amphitheater on UNO’s Lakefront campus to protest the budget cuts and build energy for a state-wide mobilization in Baton Rouge on November 10th.

This Wednesday, UNO will send a clear message to the capitol. The Save UNO Coalition demands an end to the budget cuts, an end to faculty and staff layoffs, an end to tuition hikes, and full funding for public higher education in Louisiana. The block party for higher education will begin at 12:30pm on October 6th with a performance by local hip hop artist Truth Universal, and will feature a rally at 1:00pm with speakers from UNO’s student body, student government, alumni and faculty members.

There will be stations set up during the block party for students to contact their legislators via phone and email and voice their concerns about the budget cuts. UNO will remind Louisiana lawmakers that their constituents demand accessible, fully-funded public higher education. Instead of investing in our future, the Louisiana government has cut higher education by more than $250 million dollars over the past two years, with larger cuts promised once the Federal Stimulus money ends in the summer of 2011. As class sizes and teaching loads grow, and the variety of programs and course offerings shrink, tuition steadily increases. Affordable education is especially critical during times of economic crisis, and students should not pay more for a lower quality education.

This crisis is not about the budget, but a crisis of priorities in Louisiana’s legislature. The sudden and still-unexplained expulsion of UNO’s chancellor Tim Ryan leaves UNO’s student body and faculty without crucial leadership and advocacy at the state level, and is a threat to its self-governance. Louisiana must invest in our collective future by committing sufficient resources to higher education, not by shifting the burden to students, not by eliminating programs, and not by cutting staff and faculty. New Orleans is a unique, world-class city, and deserves a world-class, public university.

New Orleans Higher Education Consortium: More Hostile Takeover Than Cooperative Endeavor

This statement was prepared by the Save UNO Coalition.

Members of the SAVE UNO coalition (a group of concerned students, faculty, staff, and alumni of UNO), write to express opposition to plans outlined in a recent proposal of unknown origin to create a New Orleans Higher Education Consortium (NOHEC) consisting of the University of New Orleans (UNO), Southern University of New Orleans (SUNO), and Delgado Community College.

The proposal promises that the consortium will make available new paths to success for local students, but we are most skeptical about these claims. We find the proposal heavy-handed and more like a hostile takeover that will gut SUNO and restrict access to higher education than a cooperative model that will improve public higher education in New Orleans.

The proposal has all the elements of a hostile takeover of SUNO: break up the target; sell off valuable assets; change operating procedures; and raid its cash reserves. The break up involves elimination of the library, student center, and many academic programs at SUNO, tearing down SUNO’s historic south campus and selling the land to raise money to buy land on the south side of UNO’s main campus to build a new NOHEC campus.

Changes in operating procedures include new admissions standards and creation of joint admissions and counseling centers to track students through a maze of new courses and programs available to select students from each college. The raiding of cash reserves involves re-direction of what’s left of $92 million in federal aid to SUNO granted since 2005, including $32 million in federal grants secured by SUNO in 2009 to re-build the original campus. Our concerns about this matter are serious enough that the proposed consortium should be re-framed as a hostile takeover, and we oppose such a takeover.

An Historically Black College Is Undermined:

The break-up of SUNO deprives New Orleans of an historically black college that has stood for decades as a beacon of opportunity for local residents. SUNO is part of the Southern University system, Louisiana's Historically Black Colleges and University (HBCU) system founded in 1880 when there was little public education available for Black people. SUNO was established in 1956 when Louisiana public education was still legally segregated. It also serves as an anchor of Pontchartrain Park, the first housing sub-division in New Orleans designed for Blacks.

While legal segregation in education and housing has ended, Louisiana still does not have equal access to either quality education or housing. Indeed, in a city that was two-thirds Black before Katrina, only 24% of UNO students are Black.

The NOHEC proposal leaves SUNO with a new north campus that offers “a limited number of degree programs,” has no library, student center, or recreation facilities. Such a campus hardly retains its separate academic integrity. Absorbing SUNO into UNO and Delgado means fewer African Americans will have access to higher education in Louisiana.

Demolition of Rebuilt Homes:

The NOHEC proposal states that SUNO’s original Pontchartrain Park campus will be torn down and sold. Proceeds of that sale will be used to acquire new land south of the UNO main campus where the new NOHEC campus will be built. The proposal goes on to state that these land transactions will benefit revitalization of both the Gentilly and Pontchartrain Park neighborhoods.

The proposal to redesign public higher education institutions in New Orleans would actually have a disastrous impact on a largely residential neighborhood located adjacent to the UNO Main Campus that has been substantially rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina. Known variously as Burbank Gardens and St. Anthony, this part of the Gentilly neighborhood is bounded by Leon C. Simon Drive on the north, Elysian Fields Avenue on the east, Robert E. Lee Boulevard on the south, and the London Avenue Canal on the west. Comprised mostly of residential duplexes, it once served as officers’ housing for the Naval Air Station that occupied the current UNO site during and following World War II.

Ravaged by major flooding during Katrina, this neighborhood has largely rebuilt over the past four and half years. These homes, along with four businesses on Elysian Fields Avenue, and the New Orleans Mosquito, Termite and Rodent Control office make up the site – all of which likely face demolition under the NOHEC proposal.

Area residents interviewed responded with disbelief regarding proposed plans for their neighborhood. Several remarked that they have worked hard to re-build their homes – and want to stay. While university officials state that there is a glut of housing available, relatively few are duplexes and none are nearby.

Neighborhood Statistics – Preliminary visual survey method

A visual survey of the area was made April 26, 2010 by K. Brad Ott, Masters of Arts Candidate, Department of Sociology, University of New Orleans. Questions or comments welcome: kott@uno.edu.

Totals:
201 lots with homes before Hurricane Katrina
154 houses repaired and occupied (permanent electric meter inspection)
13 houses undergoing restoration
13 houses unrepaired or just gutted
20 vacant lots
129 of the total are two family (duplexes) repaired and occupied
10 of the total are two family (duplexes) undergoing renovation
7 of the total are two family (duplexes) unrepaired or just gutted
4 businesses (3 of which are repaired, with 2 in operation; 1 unrepaired).

Summary of Objections to NOHEC Proposal:

We have serious questions about proposed changes in admissions standards and procedures at all three schools.

The consortium raises admissions standards at UNO and SUNO, which makes them less accessible, and it tracks less well qualified students to Delgado. Prospective students will be directed to the appropriate “campus” and courses by new joint admissions and counseling services.

Recent reductions in counseling services at UNO make us skeptical that adequate funding will be available to serve these students. We also wonder which programs will be available and which programs will not be available for students tracked into SUNO and Delgado.

We are also skeptical that “some renovation dollars” can transform Bienville Hall on the UNO campus into anything close to a respectable complex for SUNO and Delgado administrators to run the NOHEC campus.

The question of how to pay for the NOHEC consortium returns us to the issue of raiding assets after a hostile takeover. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano delivered a $32 million federal aid program in August 2009 that she said was put together for SUNO and which underscores a commitment to re-build the Pontchartrain Park campus. What will happen to these funds under the NOHEC plan? What will become of the SUNO library and five other buildings that are under renovation, and that we are supposedly obligated to repair, not demolish? This includes the old and new science buildings, the Clark Education Building, and the Multi-Purpose Student Center on the original SUNO campus. Will these assets be re-directed to NOHEC?

We conclude that, while serious discussion is desirable about how best to reform higher education in Louisiana, the NOHEC proposal is not an appropriate path to follow. It amounts to a takeover of SUNO by UNO and presents too many unanswered questions to benefit Delgado.

Save UNO Coalition contacts: Jessie Jacobs: jjjacobs@uno.edu; phone: (608) 332-5947, Vern Baxter: vbaxter@uno.edu; phone: (504) 280-7312.

Hundreds Gather at Secondline to Protest Cuts to Education and Health Care

More than 300 New Orleanians took to the streets yesterday in a spirited secondline and protest against the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, as well as call for funding and political support for education and health care.

A large contingent of students from UNO came to support the demonstration, as well as activists from the campaign to save Charity Hospital. With a variety of homemade signs and banners with messages like "We Dat Fighting Cutbacks" and "Save UNO, Save SUNO, Save Delgado," many of the protesters brought a message that linked the various struggles to save New Orleans' public sector against the broader Republican agenda of profiteering and privatization.

The demonstration began at 6:00pm at Lafayette Square, with a secondline, led by the Stooges Brass Band, to the Hilton Riverside Hotel (main site of the Republican gathering). With chants of "The say cut backs, we say fight back," the group of several hundred protesters stayed outside the Hilton for about a half hour, then marched to the nearby Brennan's Restaurant, where Governor Jindall was reportedly hosting a $10,000/plate fundraiser. From Brennan's, a smaller group marched back to the Hilton then disbanded soon after.

Jazz Funeral for Public Education at UNO

On Tuesday, March 23, at noon, a coalition of students, staff, faculty, alumni, and friends of the University of New Orleans (UNO) calling themselves SAVE UNO will be holding a Jazz Funeral and rally to protest budget cuts to UNO and other colleges and universities across the state. The event is also in support of political reforms that will restore funding to higher education in Louisiana in the short and long term.

The Jazz Funeral will begin at the University Center at noon, march through campus, and culminate with a rally on the Quad in front of the UNO Library. All students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of UNO are invited to attend and support public higher education in the city of New Orleans and state of Louisiana.

Speakers include Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center Executive Director James Perry; UNO alumni and activist Rafael Delgadillo; and UNO Graduate Student Anna Hackman.

According to a statement from organizers:

In 1958, the University of New Orleans opened its doors with the clear mandate of bringing “public-supported higher education to Louisiana's largest urban community." In little over a year, the state of Louisiana, led by Governor Jindal, has threatened that mission and undermined public support for UNO by cutting the budget for higher education by nearly $250 million dollars, with promises of more cuts to come. These cuts are occurring in a state that desperately needs more funding for higher education and ranks near the bottom of virtually every educational indicator. This assault on higher education, in turn, undermines Louisiana’s economic future. In order for the state to attract companies that offer good jobs, we need a labor force that is educationally equipped for the 21st century. Our political leaders must stop cuts to higher education – stop undermining the state’s future -- and reform the state constitution so that higher education is protected and supported in both the short and long term.

UNO, which saw its enrollment and budget decimated after Hurricane Katrina, has thus far been able to maintain its reputation as a place where a rigorous education can be obtained at a reasonable cost. That reputation and reality is being threatened on both ends: On the one hand, class sizes are increasing, class offerings are decreasing, and UNO is able to offer less and less in the way of programs, technology, and a college experience. On the other hand, as they receive less, students see their tuition and fees increase, which makes higher education less and less accessible for the average citizen. This Rally demands a different vision of higher education.

We'll see you Tuesday at noon, at UNO.