December 14, 2009

Purdue moves forward to cut costs long term and short term

Due to declining revenues, Gov. Mitch Daniels said the state will withhold $150 million for higher education over the next 18 months, which, if shared proportionally among all state public institutions, could total more than $30 million for Purdue's West Lafayette campus. When news of the state cutback was announced Dec. 4, the university already had been working to identify another $10 million in expenditure reductions for 2010-11 and another $30 million in recurring cuts beginning in 2011 from the West Lafayette campus budget.

A steering committee of faculty, staff and students named last week will be evaluating actions to realize needed savings. At a forum for faculty and staff on Monday (Dec. 14), Al Diaz, executive vice president for business and finance, treasurer, announced that actions would be taken in two areas - the hiring process and energy-related expenses - with detailed plans to come at the beginning of January.

More steps will be needed, but they will be done thoughtfully and only after careful evaluation, President France A. Córdova said.

"Our goal is to meet these financial challenges while also protecting the value of a Purdue degree, the quality of our faculty and staff, and the goals of our strategic plan," Córdova said. "Our students, alumni and state depend on our world-class education."

The steering committee will review feedback provided by the campus community at the "Sustaining New Synergies" Web site, at https://www.purdue.edu/sustaining. A sub-team of seven faculty, staff and students will work to classify each suggestion as soon as possible. Some items will be considered for immediate implementation, while others will be referred to appropriate units or the project team for further evaluation.

Media contact: Jeanne Norberg, 765-494-2084, jnorberg@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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