Providing an overview of the 2012-13 budget in light of the passing of Proposition 30 in November, California State University, Dominguez Hills Interim President Willie Hagan, along with Mary Ann Rodriguez, vice president for administration and finance, addressed members of the campus community during the second in a series of campus town hall meetings in Loker Student Union Ballroom on Dec. 4.
With the passage of Proposition 30, the university’s budget will avoid a mid-year baseline cut of $5.8 million, Hagan said; however that passage did come at a cost, he added. The university incurred a one-time $3 million reduction resulting in part from the 9 percent tuition rollback. The state has expressed a commitment to return that cost to the CSU as part of the state allocation in the next fiscal year, Hagan said.
Using detailed charts and graphs, Hagan and Rodriguez provided a picture of the university’s budget outlook over the next four years and outlined the university’s ability to accomplish Hagan’s top priorities, including his commitment to hiring 50 new faculty members as well as up to 20 staff members over the next three years.
Hagan acknowledged that with these hires the university still has staffing needs, saying “We are way from where we need to be.”
Hagan also announced plans to reorganize the University Budget Committee so that all campus constituencies–faculty, staff and students–were part of the process and had the chance to provide input from their perspectives.
“This should be a committee that engages in discussion, dialogue, give and take, and gathering of data, to reach the best decisions,” Hagan said of the committee. “This group should be involved in making recommendations to the president.”
A copy of the town hall presentations and other university budget information can be found at http://www.csudh.edu/admfin/bpa_budget_presentations.shtml