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Governor Brown’s proposed 2011-2012 budget cuts $500 million in state funding for the University of California

By Nicholas Greitzer

Jan. 11, 2011 1:58 a.m.

$500 million in state funding will be cut from the University of California’s budget if a new proposal by Gov. Jerry Brown is enacted.

Under Brown’s plan, student and family contributions to the UC would exceed investment from the state for the first time in history.

“It is a sad day when resources from the state are less than resources from students and families,” said UC Vice President for Budget Patrick Lenz. “It raises the question of what kind of universities we want in the future.”

The cut, which comes only months after more than $300 million was restored to the UC system, was part of Brown’s proposal to the California legislature that seeks to enact $12.5 billion in cuts across the state. California now suffers from a $28 billion deficit. Because of this, Lenz said the proposed cuts were not a surprise.

“This won’t be easy, and all possible remedies must be considered. The cuts the governor proposes will require sacrifice, pain and courage,” wrote University of California President Mark Yudof in a statement released after Monday’s proposal.

Yudof added in the statement that the university is working to streamline administrative operations to save $500 million over the next few years, but said as the budget for the university shrinks, so too must the university. Yudof did not clarify in the statement how this money would be saved.

“Precision is difficult with a reduction of this magnitude, but every effort will be made to protect the quality that has made the University of California ““ and the state it serves ““ the envy of the world,” Yudof wrote in the statement. “My intent is to preserve the core academic and research mission as much as possible.”

Yudof has asked chancellors to begin finding ways to meet new budget targets, said UCOP spokesman Steve Montiel.

Some ways to confront these cuts could be eliminating certain programs that don’t have direct educational benefits and potentially getting rid of low-demand courses, Montiel said.

“It’s tough to answer right now,” he said.

At this point, Lenz said it is too early to rule out further tuition hikes, but given the campus climate there probably would not be enough votes to increase student fees any more than they have been in the last year-and-a-half.

Gov. Brown held an economic forum at UCLA over the holiday break in which he met with more than 100 administrators from California to receive input on what cuts should be made.

Lenz said that based on the discussions that took place with the governor, the UC system expected cuts somewhere between 20 and 25 percent. The $500 million cut would constitute 16.4 percent of last year’s state funding for the UC.

The amount that will ultimately be taken out of the UC budget rests on an upcoming vote in which a five-year extension on certain tax hikes will be put to the California electorate.

According to Lenz, cuts to the university could potentially be much higher if the extension, which would bring $8.3 billion back to the state legislature does not pass.

Lenz said the next step in the UC response will be to brief the UC Board of Regents at their bimonthly meeting next week on the magnitude and impact of cuts within the system and across the state. By the March meeting, the regents are expected to have a plan prepared that will provide options in case larger cuts do need to be made.

UCLA received $55 million in extra funding from the partial restoration of state funds to the UC earlier this year, said Steve Olsen, vice chancellor of finance, budget and capital programs.

Instead of spending this money immediately, the excess funding was placed into UCLA’s reserve, and administrators were told to plan as though the funds did not exist in anticipation of cuts for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.

“Everyone is worried,” Olsen said, though he added that the shock of the 2009 budget cuts helped the UC brace for future cuts.

He added that no immediate crisis is on the horizon in the form of classes shutting down or enrollment reductions, but the campus is “measuring those things.”

With reports from Devin Kelly, Bruin reporter.

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