CSU Bakersfield President's Monthly Campus Update
Horace Mitchell, Ph.D.
- July 29, 2009
- Vol. 4, No. 7
State Budget
Last Wednesday we held the third campus wide budget forum to address the state of California's $26.3
billion budget deficit. Specifically, I wanted to inform the campus of the actions the CSU will take
in response to the unprecedented $584 million reduction in state funding to the CSU. Further, I
wanted to discuss actions CSUB will take to address the $13.5 funding reduction to our campus.
Decisions and actions by the CSU and CSUB are intended to achieve two overarching priorities: to serve as many students as possible without sacrificing quality; and to preserve as many jobs as possible for faculty and staff. No single solution exists to the budget shortfall. As such, the CSU has developed a four-part action plan which includes both system-wide and campus-based actions:
- Reduce payroll costs through furloughs of all employees, including the chancellor, presidents, and executives. A furlough (temporary mandatory time off without pay), of two days per month will be implemented beginning August 1, 2009 and will continue through June 30, 2010 for all bargaining units which have agreed to it. Savings from furloughs could be as much as $5.48 million, if all bargaining units agree.
- Increase student fees starting fall 2009. The trustees raised student fees by $224 per quarter for full-time undergraduate students to $1,697 per quarter. Fees were also increased for teacher credential students and graduate students. Approximately 1,900 (25 percent) CSUB students are expected to have the higher fees offset dollar-for-dollar through an increase in the State University Grant. Other students also will have other financial aid options, including Pell Grants, loans, fee waivers and newly expanded federal tax credits. Approximately 80 percent of CSUB students receive some type of financial aid. CSU fees continue to be the lowest fee rate among comparable institutions. The fee increase will replace $3.19 million of the funding cut by the state.
- Reduce enrollments. State general fund support of the CSU for 2009-10 is expected to be almost $600 million less than support a decade ago. Yet, the CSU serves approximately 100,000 more students today than it did a decade ago. In order to preserve a high-quality educational program for current and future students, enrollment cannot exceed state funding support. Therefore, over the next two years, the CSU will reduce its enrollment by 40,000 students. Enrollment for the 2010 winter quarter already has been limited to qualified applicants who applied prior to July 6, 2009. No admission applications will be accepted for the 2010 spring quarter. Students who wish to attend CSUB during the 2009-10 academic year should immediately contact the admissions department at (661) 654-3036 to determine eligibility and timing for admissions. Students interested in applying to any CSU campus, including CSUB, for fall 2010 are encouraged to apply beginning Oct. 1, 2009 at www.csumentor.edu.
- Reduce campus expenditures. CSUB has already begun to take actions to curtail campus expenditures, including a salary and hiring freeze, travel restrictions, and cancellation of non-critical equipment and supply purchases. Additional actions by campus departments must achieve at least $4.8 million of expenditure reductions.
Details of these actions are available on our website at www.csub.edu/budget.shtml. You also will find at Budget Central a video of the campus wide budget forum and my PowerPoint presentation. There is no quick solution to the state's economic crisis. We anticipate that the state budget for 2010 will be as dire, if not worse, than this year's, requiring cooperative engagement and long-term solutions.
Grants and Contracts
The state of California funds less than 50% of the CSU budget. Other major funding sources include
student fee income, and grants and contracts. CSUB faculty members have done a tremendous job of
increasing the number of grant applications and awards. Since the beginning of the 2008 academic
year, faculty have been awarded grants totaling $23,819,769. Our most recent awards are noted
below.
School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Receives $899,684 Grant
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Andreas Gebauer, department chair and associate professor of chemistry; Dr. Dirk
Baron, department chair and professor of physics and geology; Dr. Kamel Haddad,
professor of mathematics; Dr. Carl Kloock, associate professor of biology; and Dr. Natalie Tran,
assistant professor of teacher education, for receiving a National Science Foundation award in the
amount of $899,684. The grant is in support of Phase I of the CSUB Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship
Program. This program seeks to encourage talented science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(STEM) majors and professionals to become K-12 mathematics and science teachers. The program
provides funds to institutions of higher education to support scholarships, stipends, and academic
programs for undergraduate STEM majors and post-baccalaureate students holding STEM degrees who
commit to teaching in high-need K-12 school districts.
This outstanding award comes on the heels of a $295,848 Math and Science Partnership planning grant from the National Science Foundation which I mentioned in the last issue of the Update. This grant is geared to boost math and science partnerships between CSUB and high schools in Kern County. Once again congratulations for this outstanding award.
MARC U*STAR Receives $78,775 Grant
The National Institutes of Health has awarded CSUB a $78,775 grant for the Minority Access to
Research Careers - Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research (MARC U*STAR) to prepare
students for a future in biomedical research. The award was announced on July 9, 2009 by Congressman
Jim Costa. The funds are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and supplement a six-
year $1,366,697 million NIH grant that prepares underrepresented minority CSUB students to enter
Ph.D. programs in biomedical research. Students receive over $13,000 in tuition and stipends and
engage in extensive academic research, conference presentations, ethics training, and graduate
school preparation. Congratulations to Dr. Carl Kemnitz, associate professor of chemistry and MARC
U*STAR program director.
University Council
University Council meetings will resume in the fall. I hope you are having an enjoyable summer in
spite of our budget challenges. I look forward to seeing you around campus or at another upcoming
University or community event. Take care.