Academic Affairs Budget Message

April 26, 2024
Tracy Butts, Chair, Academic Affairs Budget Council and Dean, College of Humanities and Fine Arts

Dear colleagues,

Each of the divisions have been tasked with “develop[ing] a balanced budget for the next fiscal year incorporating all sources of funds including: Operating fund allocation, all other sources of funds, and not using more than 25% of division operating fund reserves” (“2024-25 Annual Budget Operating Fund Call (PDF)”). In addition, each division must reduce their budget by 5% and submit scenarios, reserve expenditure plans, and narratives that include assumptions, priorities, and impacts of the budget.” For Academic Affairs, a 5% budget reduction in general fund division allocation amounts to roughly $6.2 million dollars.  

The budget reduction scenarios are intended to initiate larger campus conversations about ways to grow enrollments, reduce costs, increase revenue, decrease demands placed on faculty and staff, capitalize on programmatic and curricular synergies, and continue to provide students with a quality education and timely progress to degree. These conversations, which have begun in the Academic Affairs Budget Council (A2B) and extended to the Provost’s Advisory Council (PAC), PAC plus associate deans (PAC+), and University Chairs, will continue throughout the remainder of the semester and into Fall 2024. Faculty, staff, and students will be afforded opportunities to provide Provost Cornick with feedback.  

Toward the end of the semester, Provost Cornick will issue a call soliciting nominations and/or self-nominations for service on an ad hoc committee tasked with facilitating discussions and soliciting feedback about how to best position Academic Affairs to make these crucial changes. Comprised primarily of faculty, staff, and students, the ad hoc committee will serve in an advisory capacity to Provost Cornick. Please be on the lookout for the call for nominations.  

If you have questions or concerns in the interim, I invite you to reach out to me at tbutts@csuchico.edu or one of the members of the A2B Council listed below:   

1. David Alexander, Associate Dean, College of ECC, dgalexander@csuchico.edu
2. Mahalley Allen, Vice Provost, Faculty Affairs and Success, mdallen@csuchico.edu
3. Holly Ferguson, Executive Assistant to the Provost, hferguson@csuchico.edu
4. Jennifer Mays, Executive Director of Budget and Academic Resources, jmays@csuchico.edu
5. Kate McCarthy, Vice Provost, Undergraduate Education and Academic Success, kmccarthy@csuchico.edu
6. Christopher Nichols, Executive Chair of Chairs and Chair, Department of Chemistry and Biology, cjnichols@csuchico.edu
7. Jodi Shepherd, Interim Dean, Meriam Library, jrshepherd@csuchico.edu
8. Jeff Trailer, Chair, Academic Senate, jtrailer@csuchico.edu