[Faculty] Upcoming Faculty Senate Meeting, Monday Dec. 4th

Wed Nov 29 08:35:30 MST 2023

Hi CALES Faculty,

The next Faculty Senate meeting is Monday, Dec. 4th, 3-5pm. Here is the agenda<https://facultygovernance.arizona.edu/events/faculty-senate-meeting-3>, and you can register to attend virtually here: https://arizona.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_FRf9A6h3SN-BoCOEXO2_Ow

As you can see, there is time allocated for the President, Interim Provost, and CFO Rulney to present their financial plans (which are due to ABOR on Dec. 15th). We have been following the discussions of the financial crisis carefully and we wanted to provide some context for this and solicit your feedback/thoughts.

In recent communication from the President and in a recent SPBAC meeting, scrutiny over specific colleges has emerged and certain colleges are being labeled as “structurally deficit”. In the monthly SPBAC meeting, CALES was mentioned as a college with serious “deficit spending” and therefore, contributing to the university’s financial predicament.

We wanted to provide some information about this based on our review of the available information from CALES leadership and other sources. First, to our knowledge, the term “structural deficit” seems to be a mischaracterization of CALES financial situation over the years. At no time since FY20 has CALES ever had a deficit cash balance. In fact, starting in 2019, under the direction of (Provost) Leisl Folks and CFO Lisa Rulney, we (and other colleges) were instructed to “spend down cash balances” as CALES had a high level of unrestricted funds. This directive was given as late as June 2023; but in July 2023, the messaging had switched and colleges were then being told to save cash. When CALES inquired about the change via email, Central Administration did not respond. This relates to the second point: overspending, which appears to be, in part, because of the directives from Central Administration to spend down cash balances, or face what is referred to as a gain share tax. Indeed, CALES did experience significant spending in FY2023, and we are working with CALES administrators to understand the nature of this spending (most of which now appears to be spent on new hirings, retention, etc.)

A few things we’d like to leave you with. First, the university messaging behind the financial crisis has been framed as Central Administration “overinvesting” and colleges “overspending” and we question this narrative, particularly as faculty who are involved in the everyday mission of our land grant university. Second, the attention on colleges instead of Central Administration as contributors to the overall financial crisis, is alarming, given that many colleges, and CALES in particular, are contributing to record levels of enrollment, teaching, and research.

As we continue to navigate this crisis and represent the interest of faculty in our college, we ask for your help and feedback. If there are questions and comments you would like us to present at the Faculty Senate meeting on Monday, please let us know. You can reach out by directly emailing us or you can use our anonymous qualtrics survey: https://uarizona.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a4vcRICRZwxfebc

Additionally, we encourage you to listen in or attend the Faculty Senate meeting on Monday. Having more faculty knowledgeable and engaged will help us (and our administration) advocate for needed change and accountability.

Katie, Bobby, and Tim

Katharine H. Zeiders, Ph.D. (she/her)

Professor | Human Development and Family Science

Norton School of Ecology

College of Agriculture, Life & Environmental Sciences  (CALES)

650 N Park Avenue, Rm 235

Tucson, AZ 85719-5089

University Roles: CALES Faculty Senator, Nominating Committee Member

https://norton.arizona.edu/person/katharine-h-zeiders-phd

I respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples. Today, Arizona is home to 22 federally recognized tribes, with Tucson being home to the O’odham and the Yaqui.

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