Welty announces budget cuts

President Welty announced staff and program cutbacks on April 22 that Fresno State will implement to meet an expected $11 million budget reduction in the next fiscal year.

The measures were developed after consultation with student leaders, the University Budget Committee, the university’s vice presidents, deans, faculty, and staff. They include reduction of enrollment at the university; elimination of management and staff positions and layoff of four people; not rehiring some part-time lecturers; and program suspensions and consolidations.

Welty said the cuts were made to minimize impacts on students to ensure that currently enrolled students could continue to make good progress on the completion of their degree requirements.

The major cutbacks are in the following areas:

• Management and non-teaching staffing: Elimination of 42 positions (seven management, 35 staff) that are currently vacant; keeping unfilled an additional 19 vacant positions (four  management, 15 staff); and laying off four people (one management, three staff).
• Faculty: not rehiring 129 part-time lecturers, who are traditionally hired as needed by the university, 12 full-time lecturers and 3 retired faculty.
• Enrollment: Reduction by 900 the number of full-time equivalent students.
• Program suspensions:  Two undergraduate options and two graduate options in the College of Health and Human Services will be suspended. Departmental consolidation will occur in the Craig School of Business and the College of Engineering and Computer Sciences. Enrollment in Industrial Engineering will continue to be suspended.

Welty said university faculty and administrators will review a range of other possible budget-cutting actions over the next several months. He also said many campus projects and initiatives will move forward.

They include continuing recruitment of tenure-track faculty to fill critical positions, continuing construction on the Science II project, beginning construction on several upgrades to the campus’ technology infrastructure, beginning planning for a new library and continuing planning for a major fund raising campaign.  The projects are funded through non-state sources or through previous voter-approved bonds.

“I believe that our consultation has resulted in range of budget-cutting actions that minimize to the greatest degree possible disruption to the University community,” Welty said.  “We will strive to maintain our essential services for our students and strategically move ahead in those areas that keep improving the campus and its educational programs.”