State of the College Address

In her state of the college address, LBCC president, Rita Cavin, told faculty and staff that, even in the face of current economic turmoil, the college, through careful planning, would move forward.

The address, which took place Friday, April l7 in the Russell Tripp Auditorium, focused mostly on the $60 million gap in the state budget allotted for community colleges and explained that some adjustments would need to be made at LBCC. One of these adjustments includes an $8 increase in the tuition for resident students and a $15 increase for international students.

Cavin explained that, because of the spike in unemployment, the state budget gap is growing rapidly and would “swallow” all of the states community college funding and still leave a budget hole of $3.6 billion. During this time of financial crisis, the college will need to position itself for rebuilding, preserve its uniqueness and values, increase efficiency, and listen to the community for workforce needs.

“This is not a new plan,” Cavin said. “This is how we have responded all along. It’s important to identify what to protect and what needs to change.”

LBCC’s plan to “navigate the economy” will be to use reserves wisely, position for a bond campaign when the community recovers, prepare for more declines in state revenues, reduce cost increases, be selective when filling vacancies, and maintain “discipline until stability and predictability are achieved.” There will also be two budget team meetings each month to evaluate proposals for savings and to monitor finances.

“Doing less and having less money does not mean we need to have less quality,” Cavin said.

Cavin reminded the crowd that money that has been spent cannot be saved and, because the college has used reserves and temporary savings to offer a path for change, the cutback periods would last longer but would also reduce the need for dramatic layoffs.

According to Cavin, this was not the first time the college has faced an economic crisis and that a $53 million cut in 01-02 took four years to recover from. “We are staring at a $60 to $70 million cut,” Cavin said.

The news in the address was not all bad, however, as Cavin pointed out some progresses that have been made at LBCC including efforts made towards environmental sustainability, the approval of a grant to provide health care for low income students, improvements in distance learning programs, and reduced child care and transportation costs for LBCC students.

In addition, the American Recovery and Investment act, a stimulus package that was signed into law by President Barack Obama on February 17, would mean increased funding for Pell grants and Perkins loans as well as $2500 tax credits for tuition and related expenses.

(Photo Credit: Gregory Dewar)