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Columns::March 4, 2002
Former U.N. commissioner wins Delta Prize for Global Understanding
Office of Institutional Diversity holds open house
McBee, emeritus vice president, will receive state humanities award
Limited hiring freeze goes into effect
There are bones about it
Campus Closeup
Head of food services department wins Silver Plate Award
Kudos
Visions of Middle-earth
Workshop for two-year colleges
UGA vs. Oxford Union
Campus News
Setting priorities
Annual management conference focuses on budget, partnerships
By Sharron Hannon
shannon@uga.edu
Optimizing fiscal resources and enhancing partnerships with the public and private sectors were the topics of the day when some
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| Dale Threadgill, head of the faculty of engineering, participated in the session on information technology and engineering. (Photo by Peter Frey) |
100 university administrators and senior faculty gathered at the Georgia Center Feb. 22 for the fourth annual management conference convened by President Michael F. Adams.
The group heard presentations from senior administrators and also broke into smaller sessions to explore ways to strengthen collaborations in several areas, ranging from biotechnology to water policy to programs for nontraditional students.
In opening remarks, Adams told the group the current budget cuts mean that “we have to manage closer to the vest,” but noted that Georgia is still better off than neighboring states.
Speaking about the limited hiring freeze announced two days before the conference, Adams said the university’s first obligation is providing for students by making sure critical teaching positions are filled. Hiring of non-teaching personnel will require approval at the senior vice president level under the current policy.
Adams noted that despite the tight budget, Gov. Roy Barnes has remained committed to two goals: avoiding layoffs and maintaining the 3.5 percent recommended salary increase for University System employees for the coming fiscal year.
Raising student credit-hour production--which has remained relatively flat since the conversion to a semester system, despite rising student enrollment--is an issue that needs a “hard look,” Adams said. “Students are not taking the loads they need to take.”
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| Keith Prasse, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, attended the public health and health education workshop. (Photo by Peter Frey) |
Provost Karen Holbrook and Interim Vice President for Instruction Peter Shedd are reviewing credit-hour production and considering various incentives to encourage students to take more than 12 hours per semester, he said.
In a presentation on managing fiscal resources, Hank Huckaby, senior vice president for finance and administration, stressed the need for units to operate within their budgets. “There is no central pot of money,” he said. “We can’t allocate every dollar, so there is some reserve, but the contingency fund is extremely small.”
Huckaby also stressed the need to set priorities within units. “That’s your role,” he told the audience. “Our role is to focus on overall institutional priorities that will best move the university forward.”
Of the recent announcement of a new parking plan for the coming year, Huckaby said raising rates was a tough decision, but without it “within four to five years we would have exhausted all auxiliary services reserves.”
Huckaby noted that implementation of differential tuition for out-of-state students will bring in approximately $2 million. “That will be plowed right back into faculty hiring to help with our instructional situation,” he said, adding that the differential tuition represents a “realistic pricing of our services.”
Huckaby also discussed the importance of maintaining a safe environment through sound laboratory practices, hazardous-materials management and sensible campus security measures. He announced that work on Baldwin Street to replace utilities and enhance pedestrian safety will begin during spring break. “By the beginning of classes in August, Baldwin will be resurfaced and traffic lights reconfigured,” he said, “but there will be a lot of digging and dust during the spring and summer.”
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| John Soloski, dean of the Grady College, attended the conference. (Photo by Peter Frey) |
The group also heard from Steve Wrigley, vice president for government relations, who is serving as interim senior vice president for external affairs, following Kathryn Costello’s resignation. Wrigley said he wants to “do more to make federal agencies aware of UGA and the strengths we have here.”
He said efforts to fund the institutional strategic plan through a capital campaign will accelerate.
The afternoon session included presentations by Jo Ann Chitty, president of the UGA Real Estate Foundation, and Provost Karen Holbrook, who spoke on the “high cost of success in research.”
Chitty talked about projects financed through the foundation, including the Broad Street studios for art and design students, the Carlton Street parking deck and the purchase of College Park apartments, all of which have been completed.
Projects in the planning and design stage include new housing for students on East Campus, an East Campus parking deck, and new buildings for the planned Riverbend Research Park, including facilities for the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center and Enterprise Information Technology Services.
“The university defines the need,” said Chitty. “Every facilities project gets scrutiny.”
Holbrook, the final speaker of the day, said the university is pursuing an aggressive agenda to increase research capacity and the result is a dramatic increase in research awards.
But that success requires substantial financial support--not only in the form of start-up costs for new personnel, but in facilities and high-tech equipment, information technology, security and general plant operations and maintenance.
“The more an institution invests, the more likely it is to be viewed competitively,” she said.
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