Washington State University is finalizing its plans to cut $40 million in the current biennium budget.
Washington State University President Elson Floyd says he’s never seen anything like it in his years in higher education— he’s referring to the loss of 52% of the university’s net state appropriation in the past four years. And about forty million dollars needs to be cut in the current budget cycle through 2013.
To help achieve that reduction, the university will cut $3.2 million from Academic Affairs but Floyd says they’ll spare academic programs.
“The first assumption we made is that we would, to the extent possible, hold our students harmless. And by that I mean the academic programs that they decided to come to Washington State University to participate in, that they would remain here,” Floyd said at a recent budget forum on the Pullman campus of WSU.
Floyd also repeated that while the university will consolidate some colleges, will discontinue support for some journals and publications, and will close some libraries on campus, among other actions, it will not impose a state approved three percent salary cut on its employees.
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Copyright 2011 Northwest Public Radio
