Acorn

Issue date: 11/12/06 Section: News

 

College students live for the present and try not to think about the future.

But for the university's budget councils, the future is now.

In September, the College of Liberal Arts Deans Council-headed by Dean of the CLA Paolo Cucchi-was already putting wheels into motion for next year's budget.

This was a project that University President Bob Weisbuch and Provost Pamela Gunter-Smith were eager to begin.

In an effort to streamline the process, the CLA plans for the first time to create four sub-committee-representing the interests of academic life, administration, enrollment and fundraising.

This is a change from Drew's traditional system of two broad finance committees concerned with expenditures and revenue.

According to Associate Dean Ed Domber, the idea is to streamline the budget process.

"We have a responsibility as an institution to deliver the best program we can that is fiscally responsible to our students," said Gunter-Smith, the head of the Provost Annual Budget committee.

Gunter-Smith and her committee's job is to take budget proposals from each of the three schools in the University, synthesize and prioritize their requests and submit them to the president.

Wesibuch will the look over the budget proposal for the entire University and, pending approval, send the request to the Board of Trustees.

Having a Provost Council overseeing the budget process makes sure the integration of offices between the schools is explored.

The Deans Council is responsible for setting these priorities and formulating a budget proposal that not only coincides with a department's needs but also is in line with the mission of the CLA.

"Our primary concern is the curricular value of the proposal," Domber said.

The Deans Council, which holds meetings every Wednesday, allots minutes every meeting to evaluate such proposals.

For the first time, according to Domber, the Deans Council asked each department of the College to submit its own five-year plans to the council.

These proposals will define the direction an academic department wants to take in the coming years, and provide a budget request that correlates to that projection.

Within these proposals, there are normally three types of requests.

They concern the faculty, non-faculty staff and operation costs, for things like Xerox-ing and supplies.

The Deans Council will caucus the departments for these proposals, prioritize them as a budget request for the College and send it to the Provost Council.

Like the Deans Council, Gunter-Smith agrees it is programs that drive the budget rather than the other way around.

"As you think about the current program and the new initiatives, you need to plan. [Then you have to] think about how you are going to garner the resources," she said.

"We want to assure that the individual departments are able to do what they're supposed to do," Domber said.

"Where there are needs, we'd like to support them if we can."

As associate dean, Domber provides data taken from other schools and within Drew to help draw comparisons for academic programs.

These numbers are helpful in evaluating each department's requests during the CLA's prioritizing stage, Domber said.

Domber helps coordinate the requests presented to the council during its weekly meetings.

He is also integral in writing the CLA's budget request document to Gunter-Smith.

Drew will get funding for these budget proposals from the $200 million endowment, restrictive, donor- specific funds and annual funds.

According to Gunter-Smith, Drew is looking for ways to increase the resources it has.

Because this is the first year the four sub-committee system is being used, the deadline for the final budget request to the Board of Trustees is due in May, instead of February.

For the Deans Council, the CLA budget proposal must be turned in to Gunter-Smith by Dec. 8.

Mike McKitish, Drew's vice president of finance and business affairs, who announced his resignation earlier this year, will remain until the end of the academic year or until a replacement is found.

The nationwide search is already in the works and a replacement should be in line by spring, according to Chief Communications Officer Dave Muha.

A search committee will be put together by Weisbuch in a few weeks.

The Deans Council is also planning to pilot a three-year budget next year, because it is easier to budget in three years than five.

The University's new four-pronged approach to next year's budget did not drastically change the planning at the College.

 

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