Address to the General Faculty and Staff
Good afternoon and happy holidays. I have some thoughts that I want to share with you today, and I want your thoughts and ideas in return, in the spirit of a true town meeting.
This is a time of year for celebration, and we as a university have much to celebrate. Clemson enters 2001 with tremendous positive momentum.
We're TIME Magazine's Public College of the Year. What's important to me is that we received this prestigious recognition for collaboration and for teaching.
We have enrolled our brightest freshman class ever, with an average SAT score of 1172.
Research support is up 23 percent from last year, a record one-year increase.
Our capital campaign has raised $240 million. That is a great deal of support. It is also a measure of the confidence that alumni and friends have in the work of our faculty and staff.
We have enjoyed a successful fall sports season and many of us look forward to going to the Gator Bowl in a few days.
Demand for a Clemson degree is at an all-time high, with a record number of applications, continuing a decade-long trend. Each year, we seem to set a higher standard for admission, but when you have 12,000 applicants for roughly 2,600 positions, quality is going to increase.
Our faculty, staff and students continue to achieve national recognition and make significant contributions to the state. Let me share just a few examples:
- Physics and astronomy Professor Don Clayton has been named to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences;
- Scott Husson, assistant professor of chemical engineering, has earned a Presidential Early Career Award from the National Science Foundation;
- Webb Smathers, associate professor of agricultural economics, recently received a national 4-H award;
- Huabei Jiang, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, has developed a new laser imaging system that can help discover breast cancer in the early stages;
- Civil engineering Professor Serji Amirkanian is leading a tire recycling research project that could eliminate millions of tires being sent to landfills, and if you've been to Camp Hope, you've driven on a road paved with these recycled materials;
- Dozens of faculty and staff are participating in the production of "Your Day," a new radio program that airs four days a week on S.C. educational radio, bringing Clemson expertise to citizens all across the state;
- We have developed new scholarship initiatives, including the Campbell Scholars, which reward students for involvement in community service, and the Clemson National Scholars, which brought an outstanding group of freshmen to campus this fall;
- the University Singers have just returned from performing at Carnegie Hall, where they received a standing ovation from the audience;
- Our students are spearheading the nation's first student-led Habitat for Humanity blitz build;
- We have seen repeat national championships by the student Concrete Canoe Team, which won its national competition for the second year in a row, and the Forestry Club, which was named the nation's best chapter for the third year in a row, and we have also seen our debate team achieve national prominence.
Such achievements demonstrate that our vision of being one of the top 20 national public universities is do-able, possible, in fact, likely in the next 10 years.
However, now we face a new challenge unlike any we have faced before. As you have read in the news media, shortfalls in state revenues have raised the specter of significant budget cuts. We believe that the Governor's budget will include a 15 percent across-the-board budget cut for all agencies except K-12. Although we do not yet know exactly what the House and Senate will recommend, we think 15 percent is the figure we should use in our planning.
To help that 15 percent figure sink in, consider that we're talking about a reduction in Clemson's state funding of nearly $25 million: $16.8 million in our educational and general budget and another $8.1 million in our public service activities funding.
Let's put that figure in perspective. That's the equivalent of closing two of our five colleges or increasing tuition by more than 30 percent. The same is true for all public institutions, which would have to raise tuition by 20 percent to 30 percent to recover their potential budget cuts.
Given that the economy of South Carolina is stable and strong, the question is, why? There are two reasons for the budget situation. First, we have been giving appropriations to all state agencies of one-time money to meet recurring needs. Second, we've cut taxes. There are fewer sources of revenue coming into the state coffers. The state funds programs based on projected funds rather than actual funds, and the projected revenues for 2001-2002 are down.
How do we build a top 20 university in this environment? Can we continue our positive progress in the wake of such drastic budget cuts? Can we continue to move aggressively toward our goal of becoming one of the nation's top universities?
I believe the answer is "yes." Absolutely, yes. Clemson has proved many times that it is not afraid to make tough decisions. If we work together, I'm absolutely convinced we can find a solution.
Over the next several weeks, we will be holding a series of meetings to share information and develop Clemson's strategy for responding to these budget cuts. Our strategy will be guided by the following principles:
- We are committed to reaching the top 20, even in this environment. We are not going to back off.
- We will focus on a combination of internal reallocations and increases in tuition and other sources of revenue. Although we would expect a budget cut of this size to result in substantial fee increases, we will not place the entire burden on our students and their families.
- We will have an open process throughout. You will be kept informed, and your input will be encouraged. All of us need to do our best thinking. The best way to ensure success is to engage all of us in this process.
- We will work hard to make the case that higher education IS "education" and should be protected along with K-12.
- We will reconsider our capital campaign plans. We were scheduled to end the campaign this summer, but we may need to reconsider that.
- We will find opportunities to come out of this environment better positioned for the future.
- We will not whine and complain. We will be aggressive, but positive.
- We will work together as "one Clemson." If we allow ourselves to become fractured, to think of our small piece of the university rather than the whole, we will be headed toward a place we don't want to be.
The people of South Carolina spoke when they voted for a lottery, and the message was clear. They voted for education. They want South Carolina's young people to have access to a quality education inside the state. They expect us to provide that education.
The legislature itself has also made a strong statement for higher education through the creation of the LIFE Scholarship. The LIFE scholarship has made college more affordable and accessible than ever before. As a result, demand for access to higher education, particularly at Clemson, is at an all-time high. We should not pull the rug out from under these families by eliminating the funds needed to provide the academic programs they are seeking.
Among the ideas that are on the table are:
- increasing tuition or adopting differential tuition for more costly programs;
- considering strategic hiring decisions, including two vice presidential searches currently under way;
- significantly restricting freshman enrollment to reduce faculty costs;
- seeking regulatory relief that will help us reduce paperwork and administrative costs;
- exploring all revenue sources, such as adding a surcharge to ticket prices in athletic events, selling or developing university property if appropriate, and developing campus sponsorship opportunities.
Our efforts must also include taking a hard look at all programs and activities. We are in the process of developing a set of university strategies, which we will take to the Board of Trustees in January. These strategies will help us prioritize and determine how best to use the resources we have. However, our goals have not changed. Programs and activities will be focused on achieving these university goals.
Possible responses that I have not talked about are across-the-board budget cuts to departments and staff layoffs. This will be our last resort. We have tried such drastic measures before, and we have seen that they set us back for at least five years, maybe more. All economic obstacles are temporary. I do not want to see us sacrifice the next half-decade of progress for what may be a one-year or even a two-year situation.
Our ability to avoid such drastic measures is directly related to our willingness to work together and find creative solutions. We are a $440 million a year operation. If we must, we will find a way to address the issue of $25 million.
The path I have described - to continue being focused, positive and aggressively moving toward our goal - is not the easy path, but it is the right one. It is the one that will best serve our students, our graduates, and our state.
The LIFE Scholarship has made a college education more affordable than ever. If a lottery produces even more scholarship funding, we will take another major step forward. These scholarships represent a promise to South Carolina's young people that college is possible. Today, however, they have to choose between these scholarships and a degree from a top-ranked university. They cannot attend a university that is considered one of the top 20 in the nation unless they cross the state line into Georgia or North Carolina. Our students should not have to make that choice. They should be able to have both the LIFE Scholarship and a degree from a top-20 university. We are determined to provide South Carolina's students that option. That's really our goal. It's not about Clemson feeling good about itself. It's about giving our students the very best opportunities.
In closing, let me reiterate:
- We will not step back from our goal of being a top-20 public university.
- We can achieve this goal by working even more closely together.
- At some point in the next decade we would have been facing a significant fiscal challenge. History tells us that. Let's face it now, together, and emerge stronger as a result.
This is how a great university meets challenges: aggressively, positively, united. Clemson is a great university, and I am confident we will succeed in this challenge.