Spring Break
Deficit causes polling center to close
Lidia Ryan
Issue date: 2/20/09 Section: News
The Center for Survey Research and Analysis at UConn will close on June 30 because it has accumulated a $700,000 deficit since the mid-1990s, according to Suman Singha, interim vice president for research at CSRA.
The center does national and statewide surveys and polls that supply information to researchers and newspapers, such as the Hartford Courant.
"The Center for Survey Research & Analysis (CSRA) at the University of Connecticut is a non-partisan, non-profit survey research facility dedicated to the study of public opinion," according to its Web site.
Singha said that the university, as well as the polling center, decided in August that the center would not be able to meet the deficit. The deficit has been present for over a decade, according to political science professor Mark Boyer.
"The business just has not been there," said Singha. "The center is supposed to be self-sustaining."
Singha said the decision to close down the center was difficult, but necessary.
"As much as we hate to be pulling out, it becomes an economic problem," he said.
There are five people currently employed at the center who will be laid off when CSRA closes, according to Singha. However, he said employees are aware that their positions at the center are not permanent. The center also hires undergraduates and graduate assistants to do phone surveys.
The center's Web site says, "CSRA's affiliation with the University of Connecticut allows easy access to experts in a wide variety of fields and issues."
According to Boyer, CSRA is an important resource for the political science department. Many faculty members use the polling center to conduct surveys and gather information for their research. Boyer said that because researchers must acquire grants to conduct polls, it becomes very expensive.
"It's a disappointment to our research program," Boyer said, "but it won't be a catastrophic blow."
Now, the political science department, as well as anyone else who uses the center, will have to turn to other polling centers in the area. Both Singha and Boyer said the polling center at Quinnipiac University will most likely get a great deal of business when CSRA closes.
"It's more convenient to have a center right on campus, but we will have to cope," Boyer said.
"The decision comes down to how much of a financial liability is the university willing to take on," Boyer said.
The center does national and statewide surveys and polls that supply information to researchers and newspapers, such as the Hartford Courant.
"The Center for Survey Research & Analysis (CSRA) at the University of Connecticut is a non-partisan, non-profit survey research facility dedicated to the study of public opinion," according to its Web site.
Singha said that the university, as well as the polling center, decided in August that the center would not be able to meet the deficit. The deficit has been present for over a decade, according to political science professor Mark Boyer.
"The business just has not been there," said Singha. "The center is supposed to be self-sustaining."
Singha said the decision to close down the center was difficult, but necessary.
"As much as we hate to be pulling out, it becomes an economic problem," he said.
There are five people currently employed at the center who will be laid off when CSRA closes, according to Singha. However, he said employees are aware that their positions at the center are not permanent. The center also hires undergraduates and graduate assistants to do phone surveys.
The center's Web site says, "CSRA's affiliation with the University of Connecticut allows easy access to experts in a wide variety of fields and issues."
According to Boyer, CSRA is an important resource for the political science department. Many faculty members use the polling center to conduct surveys and gather information for their research. Boyer said that because researchers must acquire grants to conduct polls, it becomes very expensive.
"It's a disappointment to our research program," Boyer said, "but it won't be a catastrophic blow."
Now, the political science department, as well as anyone else who uses the center, will have to turn to other polling centers in the area. Both Singha and Boyer said the polling center at Quinnipiac University will most likely get a great deal of business when CSRA closes.
"It's more convenient to have a center right on campus, but we will have to cope," Boyer said.
"The decision comes down to how much of a financial liability is the university willing to take on," Boyer said.
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