Spring Break
CORE report may save UConn $5 million
Christopher Duray
Issue date: 2/13/09 Section: News
The Cost Savings and Revenue Enhancement (CORE) task force has turned in its preliminary report, recommending wide energy reforms, merging and disbanding of certain departments, centers and graduate programs and other initiatives that could save the school anywhere from $5 to 7 million.
The CORE task force was commissioned by President Hogan in November to maximize efficiency without compromising student access to programs. The goal was to ease financial difficulties brought on by state budget cuts of 3 percent - but are expected to grow to 5 percent, a reduction of about $32 million.
The task force is co-chaired by Peter Nicholls, provost and vice president for academic affairs, Richard Gray, chief financial officer, and Barry Feldman, chief operating officer. The group, which also comprises 11 other administrators, came to their conclusions by reviewing policy and considering over 500 suggestions submitted by students and faculty.
Some of the suggestions would require spending money to implement them, but that loss is reflected in the $5 million savings estimate, and according to Nicholls, may be slight enough to be compensated by the sale of energy credits from UConn's energy surplus.
A great deal of the report suggests ways to streamline bureaucracies involved in areas like purchasing and operations, fund allocation and deployment, but it also identified several departments that could be merged together or excised completely. The kinesiology department, for example, will be merged with the physical therapy department.
Graduate programs like music education were dropped because their enrollments were low.
Also amongst the casualties are six of the 95 UConn academic centers, including the Center for Survey Research and Analysis and the Center for African Studies. Nicholls said the reason for the reduction was lack of interest.
"Over the years some of the faculty [interested in the centers] have left and research interests have changed, and then it comes to the point where there is no need to have the center anymore," Nicholls said.
The CORE task force was commissioned by President Hogan in November to maximize efficiency without compromising student access to programs. The goal was to ease financial difficulties brought on by state budget cuts of 3 percent - but are expected to grow to 5 percent, a reduction of about $32 million.
The task force is co-chaired by Peter Nicholls, provost and vice president for academic affairs, Richard Gray, chief financial officer, and Barry Feldman, chief operating officer. The group, which also comprises 11 other administrators, came to their conclusions by reviewing policy and considering over 500 suggestions submitted by students and faculty.
Some of the suggestions would require spending money to implement them, but that loss is reflected in the $5 million savings estimate, and according to Nicholls, may be slight enough to be compensated by the sale of energy credits from UConn's energy surplus.
A great deal of the report suggests ways to streamline bureaucracies involved in areas like purchasing and operations, fund allocation and deployment, but it also identified several departments that could be merged together or excised completely. The kinesiology department, for example, will be merged with the physical therapy department.
Graduate programs like music education were dropped because their enrollments were low.
Also amongst the casualties are six of the 95 UConn academic centers, including the Center for Survey Research and Analysis and the Center for African Studies. Nicholls said the reason for the reduction was lack of interest.
"Over the years some of the faculty [interested in the centers] have left and research interests have changed, and then it comes to the point where there is no need to have the center anymore," Nicholls said.
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