College of William and Mary officials are expecting deeper revenue shortfalls for next year following Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s Dec. 17 proposal to cut state funding for all Virginia universities by 15 percent. The proposed cuts, which would take $9.7 million out of the budgets of the College and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, are currently being considered by the General Assembly.
These new cuts come on top of October’s budget cuts of $4.9 million from the two institutions. VIMS operates under the administrative umbrella of the College but is funded separately by the state.
The Board of Visitors is considering all options, including tuition increases and further cuts in department budgets, but will not have a final plan until its April meeting.
“It’s a little early in the game to know exactly what we’ll do in response,” Vice President for Finance Sam Jones said.
BOV Secretary Suzann Matthews ’71 agreed, saying that the College was waiting to see whether the GA would make all the cuts requested by Kaine.
In a statement following Kaine’s announcement, College President Taylor Reveley emphasized that any cuts would not affect students or faculty this semester.
“To repeat prior assurances about the current fiscal year, there will be no layoffs on the main campus, no salary reductions or furloughs, no loss of student financial aid and no mid-year tuition increase,” Reveley said. “As always, we will work to absorb the latest cuts in our state funding with the least harm to the university, and we will report to you once plans are further along.”
Any cuts next year would come in addition to the 5 percent cuts that all departments were forced to make this year. Department heads say the cuts have hurt, but they have been able to cut back on minor expenses so far.
“Our department has so far responded to cuts by reducing the amount we give faculty for conference travel, by watching postage carefully, and by encouraging faculty to conserve paper,” English Department Chair Jack Martin said. He added that funding for the renovation of Tucker Hall had also been delayed.
The economics department made similar cuts, according to Department Chair William Hausman and Office Manager Pat Luke.
“It’s not a crisis yet … but we’re drawing down our savings. If it continues for two or three years it’s going to have an impact [on teaching],” Hausman said, adding that the most serious cut this year was the decision to hire a new visiting professor instead of a tenure-track one as originally planned.
Jones said he thought it was unlikely that any federal stimulus package would kick in soon enough to prevent cuts next year.
Virginia’s proposed funding cuts are roughly on par with those of other state university systems. New York’s public college system has decided on a 14-percent tuition increase for next year, while the University of California system lost $65 million in state funding causing tuition to go up at least 9 percent.
In a Dec. 9 blog post on the College’s website, Rector Michael Powell called for “a new financial model” for the College that would involve less state funding, more alumni giving and higher tuition along with more financial aid.
“We will also have to look at tuition. The cost of educating a student is nearly $18,000 and most students pay much less than that,” Powell said. “At the same time, we do not want financial need to prevent qualified students from joining our community. Thus, financial aid budgets will also have to be increased.”
Student Assembly President Valerie Hopkins ’09 said students should take an active role in convincing the GA to go easy on the College.
“In addition to coming on a trip like Road to Richmond, students can call and e-mail representatives,” Hopkins said. “Our voice needs to be loud, because members of the GA are hearing from a lot of constituents.”
