|
"Inside FAU" - March 2009
(video transcript)
BACK
From President Frank T.
Brogan
It’s President of Florida
Atlantic University. I have got a great
opportunity not only to have been a student of
this fine institution but has mentioned also her
president. I am here today at the wonderful
Wimberly Library of Florida Atlantic University I
have the opportunity to talk to all of you a
little bit about our present budget situation and
in future segments we will have the opportunity
to talk about other facets of this great
university where these words headed in the
future. These are very difficult economic
days for all of us at Florida Atlantic University
and of course all of us in the country but we
want you to know that Florida Atlantic University
even though were making those difficult decisions
today we are going to do it in the way that will
see that were organized for the future.
Currently we are over 27,000 students at FAU,
nine great colleges undergraduate and graduate
programming and certainly a budding research
portfolio that seems to be growing with the
year. Great partnerships are bounded
Florida Atlantic University and our award-winning
faculty and our outstanding students and our
service oriented staff continued to make this a
jewel in the crown of the State University
System. So while we deal with these budget
reductions we know that were basing all of it on
maintaining high quality service to our students,
continuing to support world-class faculty and
creating change for the better with the 21st
Century of Florida Atlantic University. We
have already trimmed $20,000,000.00 from our
budget at FAU. We are cutting now
$12,000,000.00 during this fiscal year and we
have just received word that that will increase
to an additional $15,000,000.00 during the next
fiscal period. All of this comes from a
$500,000,000.00 total budget at FAU but even more
only from approximately half of that as it
relates to State dollars both into vision and
State subsidy which makes (inaudible) from which
were reducing even smaller and therefore more
difficult, the highway wind doing this
well. Of course the obvious sweeping
working on travel freezers and hiring freezers we
have been carefully scrutinizing the way we look
at our programming opportunities and activities
and how we drive services at FAU and so thus far
we tried to maintain the classroom, the
laboratory as our number one priority will
continue to do that. But at the same time
these additional cuts are getting more and more
difficult. We are predicating our position
on the fact that while reducing our budget at the
same time we are going to reorganize Florida
Atlantic University for the future and make sure
that we are not just surviving these budget
reductions in this tough fiscal period but that
when we come out the other side we do so as a new
university dedicated to the future for our
students or faculty and our staff. To that
end we are looking at continuing to reduce
administrative lines we are scrutinizing every
academic program at Florida Atlantic University
for liability and efficiency. We are
looking at the way we are organized currently
with seven campuses and sites and recognizing
that the number of duplicated services that we
are providing both academic and support need to
be paired back for the future to ensure that we
are not only meeting the budget reductions but
again to make sure that we do more than survive
but flourish in the future. So at the end
of the day it is easy to see that
everyone’s life will be affected by these
budget reductions. In some ways through
program reduction, in other ways through choices
that was difficult as program closure and perhaps
even lay off. But all of this again is
being based on the ideal that the future of this
university is more important than anything
else. I will try to keep all of you apprise
as to how this is evolving over time as we go to
the board of trustees with these budget
recommendations for the future as we continue to
take ideas and suggestions for both in and
outside of the university as to how ably we can
create greater efficiency and productivity about
how we might reorganize and redesign ourself but
at the end of the day as I know has been the case
of Florida Atlantic University these decisions
will be made together as a family no matter how
difficult it might be. Again I want to
thank everyone for what they do at Florida
Atlantic University and will come back you again
from other sites and locations around FAU as we
continue to examine inside Florida Atlantic
University. Thank you.
BACK
Inside FAU is produced by University
Communications & Marketing on behalf of the
Office of the President.
Questions/Comments:
office_of_the_president@fau.edu
|
|
|
Welcome!
Florida
Atlantic University is a public university that
currently serves 27,000 undergraduate and graduate
students on seven campuses in South Florida. Since
its founding in 1961, FAU has awarded degrees to more
than 100,000 alumni, and I am very proud to count
myself among them.
Like
today's students, I found FAU's faculty second to
none in excellence of classroom teaching and
mentorship of students. This truly outstanding
community of scholars makes the university experience
come alive for students, broadening their horizons in
a multitude of ways.
Though
less than 50 years old, FAU is already claiming a
place among America's most productive research
universities. Discoveries are being made today in FAU
laboratories that will add to the arsenal of
diagnostic and treatment tools used in the battle
against cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease
and a host of other deadly illnesses.
It is
my great privilege to lead Florida Atlantic
University during this period of transformative
growth and progress.
Frank
T. Brogan '81 President
|
|
