 During Thursday's meeting, the board approved a tuition hike of 9.5
percent for the upcoming school year.Interim University of
Illinois President Stanley Ikenberry said the university had to
share the brunt of the fiscal crisis with all parties.
"Students also are going to need to share a portion of the load,
and asking them to share at basically an inflationary rate, I think,
is a good, balanced policy that's fair to students and fair to the
other groups within the university," he said.
The University of Illinois system is preparing a budget for the
upcoming academic year but is still waiting on $380 million owed by
the state from this year. Illinois is facing a $13 billion budget
deficit for the fiscal year set to start July 1.
In order to free up cash and help universities make payroll,
lawmakers earlier this month approved a plan that would allow public
universities to borrow up to 75 percent of the debt the state owes
them, to go toward paying salaries and overdue expenses. Gov. Pat
Quinn has yet to consider the proposal.
Ikenberry said the borrowing plan, if signed into law by Quinn,
would heap on another $10 million to $20 million of interest costs
next year, at a time when the university has made efforts to curtail
spending.
"Where's this (money) going to come from? It's going to come from
furloughing faculty members, cutting wages of existing employees --
it's going to come from freezing positions, not hiring faculty that
we should hire," he said.
Ikenberry took over as interim president last year after
predecessor B. Joseph White resigned, which was in part because of
allegations that politicians and other influential individuals were
swaying the admissions process.
Ikenberry will step aside in July because the board of trustees
also confirmed a new permanent president during Thursday's board
meeting.
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Historian and school administrator Michael Hogan will take over
as the 18th president for the University of Illinois system in July.
In doing so, Hogan will resign from his position as University of
Connecticut president at the end of June.
"He'll have a challenge to work with the Legislature and others,
to restore the support of the university," Ikenberry said about
Hogan. "He comes with his eyes wide open, understanding the state is
now almost $400 million in arrears in its payments to the
university."
Hogan already has an early challenge from one lawmaker, state
Sen. Martin Sandoval, D-Chicago.
Sandoval points out that Hogan's base annual salary is $620,000,
a boost from the $450,000 base salary the university paid White.
"I find it insulting that on the day that they're contemplating
increasing tuition by nearly 10 percent, that (Hogan) is taking a
$170,000 pay increase," Sandoval said. "I'm asking him to forgo that
increase and take the same salary that the past president took while
he was here."
The university's financial straits for the next year could change
in the next week -- for better or worse.
Lawmakers are scheduled to return to Springfield on Monday and
could finalize next year's budget next year.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By KEVIN LEE] |
