OU received another cut in state funding of $3.8 million, as OU President David L. Boren had anticipated. This is an additional cut on top of the $22 million already cut from the total university budget.

"The cut is slightly less than we anticipated, but it may not be the last," said Jeff Hickman, OU press secretary.

The Office of State Finance monthly determines what additional cuts may be needed if collections fall below its projections, Hickman said.

The cuts include $2.2 million to the Norman campus, $97,000 to the Law Center and almost $1.5 million to the Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City.

Anticipating these cuts, Boren asked the OU Board of Regents last month to raise student fees in case the state Legislature did not allocate more funds. He announced that he may also need to raise tuition 7 percent.

Even if these additional revenues do go into effect for next fall, the university budget would still be short an estimated $3 million to $4 million.

"While cutting an additional $3 million to $4 million would still be very painful after almost $7 million in cuts already taken, to cut an additional $10 million to $11 million would be impossible without doing serious academic damage," Boren said.

Such conditions would cause the university to make drastic changes such as reductions in staff, reductions in adjunct faculty, reductions in the library, furloughs, reductions of several hundred class sections and other cuts which threaten the academic progress which OU has made over the last few years.

Mike McInerney, faculty senate chairman-elect, said many individuals have worked diligently across campus to find areas that can be cut without drastically affecting the educational mission of the university.

"Unfortunately, there is nothing left to cut," McInerney said. "Any further cuts will likely seriously impact our ability to teach and conduct research."

He said furloughs would be a last resort, but further reduction in staff and adjunct faculty will mean fewer classes and higher enrollments in courses.

McInerney said the university has made great strides in improving the quality of instruction and amount of research funding and productivity. Further cuts would erode the gains the university has made in the last five years, he said.

Such a budget crunch has concerned many faculty. Because unfilled positions have been lost, fewer faculty are teaching a larger number of students than last year, McInerney said.

Another concern is faculty retention. The university has attracted a number of excellent faculty to the university that could reconsider staying at OU, McInerney said.

"The absence of raises and the possibility of more severe outcomes such as furloughs may force these individuals to look for positions elsewhere," he said. "This will certainly affect the quality and diversity of our faculty."

Faculty hopes the state legislature considers allocating the university more funds to keep these possibilities from becoming reality.
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