This page has been created to serve as a hub for all public information regarding the state, university, and College of Arts and Sciences budget situations, the furlough and voluntary pay reduction programs, and related issues. Please check this page frequently for updates. We welcome you to contact us to offer your ideas on how LAS and UIC can address the financial and educational challenges we face.

Recent Announcements

FY11 Budget Overview:

July 27, 2010

At the end of May, the Illinois legislature submitted a budget for FY11 to the governor that was unbalanced. Consequently, the legislature provided the governor broad authority to make reductions in order to balance the budget. The governor’s amended budget for FY11 imposes a $100 million reduction in support for higher education. This translates to a 6.2% reduction for the University of Illinois representing $46.4 million system-wide and $22.3 million for UIC. This essentially reduces state support to the FY06 funding level in accordance with conditions for accepting federal stimulus funds. Without the shield of this requirement the cut could have been much deeper. READ MORE

NOTE: The following is an op-ed piece I submitted to the Chicago Tribune for their consideration in mid-January. Although they decided not to run the piece, I am reproducing it here for our LAS community. This will be the first installment in a series of brief communications from me to the College community on a variety of issues shaping our future.

There has been no shortage of discussion in the media about the severe budget crisis facing the State of Illinois. There has also been much discussion of what the state’s inability to pay its bills to state agencies portends for the delivery of a variety of critical services to the people of Illinois. What I have not heard nearly enough about in the media, however, are the devastating effects that this budget crisis is having on Illinois’ public universities. READ MORE

Dear LAS Faculty & Staff:

As all of you know, the College has been in the process of formulating contingency budget plans for FY11. The State of Illinois now owes the University of Illinois approximately $483 million to date and that number continues to mount. Because of a sheer lack of guidance from the State about the status of the University’s state allocation from the general revenue fund (GRF), the upper administration has rightly asked that we plan for three different budget scenarios. That said, it remains a very confusing time. On Jan 25th the College received a memo and budget planning documents from the Provost requesting our 3.4%, 6.9% and 10.3% budget reduction contingency plans for FY11. According to new Campus tuition revenue projections that we received the same week (and that have been shared by the Provost with unit executives), it is possible in FY11 that LAS’s tuition increment may replace a substantial portion of the anticipated GRF reduction. The latter point seems to be good news in the short term, but is not to be confused with cause for celebration. READ MORE