5/9 email

Dear Members of the College Council and Faculty Senate Executive Committees,

Thank you for your letter of May 6, 2020 articulating your “request for a inclusive, effective structure to face the immediate challenges of the college” and for a committee based on the RBAC model of 2010-2011. These are issues that we also discussed at our last meeting on May 5.

I have given your letter serious consideration and must respectfully decline implementation of this approach. As I stated in the May 5 meeting, when the RBAC was created there was a loud governance outcry that the previous president did not respect the governance plan of the College which already had two budget committees: the Personnel and Budget Committee and the College Council Budget Committee. It was viewed by some that the RBAC committee added a third and unneeded complication to an existing structure. I agree with the previous assessment and feel that we should stick with our existing plan for consultation.

It is my understanding that the College Council Budget Committee has been meeting and I have instructed the Provost and our CFO to share detailed data about our budget and to listen to ideas about where the committee thinks we can generate savings.

I have been meeting with the P&B and have shared a detailed outlook of our budget and the magnitude of cuts that we need to plan for. I have outlined to them six or seven areas that I believe will need to be cut to balance our budget. I have listened to their ideas and suggestions as well as to their concerns and objections and will incorporate ideas that I believe have merit into the actual plan. I and members of my cabinet have also had several townhalls with stakeholders throughout the campus, and will continue to do so in order to provide information and get feedback from these various groups.

Of course, we have many other governance committees: the Institutional Planning Committee, Research Committee, HEO Steering Committee, Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, and Executive Committee of the College Council, to name a few. I and my administrative team will continue to communicate and consult with these as well.

In summary, I believe that the best path forward is to stick to our governance plan. I believe that through our existing structure we will work through this.

Bill Fritz President