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UNLV President Warns of ‘Fiscal Collapse’

February 16, 2011, 12:23 pm

For the first time in its 54-year history, the University of Nevada at Las Vegas may have to declare financial exigency, its provost, Michael W. Bowers, wrote in a memorandum to faculty and staff members on Tuesday. And according to the Las Vegas Sun, the university’s president, Neal Smatresk, repeated that point to the Faculty Senate, outlining a plan to cut nearly $48-million from the university’s budget if a budget proposed by Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Republican, is adopted by the Legislature, a situation Mr. Smatresk characterized as “approaching a state of fiscal collapse.” A declaration of financial exigency would precede a university decision to close programs, lay off tenured faculty members, and take other emergency steps.

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  • raymcc85

    From the Sun article: ” ‘The cuts’, Smatresk said, will lead to a ‘smaller, more expensive, more selective institution.’

    ‘I need to tell you,’ he said, with a voice heavy with sadness, ‘it’s hard to abandon old ways of thinking. A white knight will not come in and dramatically change the situation.’

    Public universities must stop expecting governmental support and begin to understand that it is not their responsibility to provide excellent, low-cost higher education when legislators (and the public they represent) feel no commitment to that goal. Idealism sometimes suffers at the hands of reality.

  • johnfarley

    It seems to me that it is the governor and legislature who need some attitude adjustment here. If we do not adequately fund higher education and make sure that it remains accessible to a broad cross section of the population, this country will be left behind in the dust by our competitors around the world who do understand the importance of education. It is already happening, and will only get worse if more states do what Nevada is doing.

  • supertatie

    I want all those who are railing against budget cuts to explain what needs to be cut. Everyone’s pet program is special. California is broke. Illinois is broke. Wisconsin is broke. How many other states are teetering on the edge? A couple dozen.

    So – go ahead and play legislature for the day. Where will YOU cut tens of millions of dollars in spending? Then try to go sell it to your colleagues whose pet programs you’ve decided to eliminate.

    Good luck.

  • mmccross

    This is truly scary. State support of public universities has already been greatly reduced. What does Gov. Sandoval want – a return to the 1920s, when only wealthy people went to college? In those days a much larger percentage of Americans lived on their own farms or worked in factories. No one in my family went to college until after WW II. What will people do now that a miniscule number of Americans live on their own farms or work in factories? I would rather pay more taxes so that more people have the opportunity to attend college.This country’s ability to cope will all kinds of issues, including the development of energy sources from things other than fossil hydrocarbons, depends on the education of a broad sector of its citizenry. Most of us will still have to do real work of some kind to make a living. Not everyone can carve a career out of being a conservative radio talk show host/blogger, a Republican or Tea Party politician, or a pundit on Fox News.

  • nwelch

    The moment the federal government bailed out the banks and investment firms, transforming an enormous (and enormously toxic) private debt into public debt, the next step–to blame public programs and education, to call for deep cuts in public spending, to cut off aid for states in the name of necessary austerity–was in sight. But we need to remember that across fifty states, thirty years of regressive tax policies have kept the very wealthy and most corporations off the hook for supporting socially vital programs and needed infrastructure. We need to remember that Congress, including the Senate’s Democratic majority, voted to extended the Bush-era tax cuts for the super-wealthy. We need to remember that Wall Street just enjoyed a banner year with a record pay-out of bonuses. If public universities aren’t going to shut down or downsize and privatize, we should add our voices to the majority of Americans who in recent polls have said the solution is to tax the rich and cut the Pentagon, not cut social programs and education. And I hope faculty, students, and many others do in Las Vegas what they’re doing in Wisconsin–storm the halls of government.

  • blog21

    Isn’t one of our fundamental flaws the thinking that everyone in the country should be an honors student college grad? Of course, they have to be, because we let our manufacturing base move overseas, so the only thing left is financial wizardry and flipping hamburgers. There’s so little in between. College is not necessary for a solid middle class, but if we don’t encourage the building of middle class jobs and trades-based jobs, then our economy is in real trouble, and no amount of graduation rates will help.

    Not everyone is a good fit for college (real studies that is, not beer pong U). To think our whole populace needs to go through college is misguided. Coupled with watching our middle class jobs go oversees, and we’re in real trouble, especially when the colleges collapse under the weight of this misguided vision.

  • panthernation

    Ummm…my state of Iowa could just let tax rates go back to the levels they were in the 1990s (you know…the tax rates when our economy was actually growing rather than the tax rates we have when the economy is falling apart) and fix our problem. We also could stand to not give corporations an additional tax break this year. California created a good chunk of their problems with the tax limit propositions.

    Thanks for letting me play legislature for a day!!!! :)

  • jcas3309

    A very difficult time for Nevada and many other states. Higher education will have to make pretty deep cuts in all areas of many institutions to balance their budgets. Like a broken record, I continue to emphasize a new business model is needed in public (and private) higher education! Maybe instead of looking at each institution individually, the state system should review its structure, business model, academic model, and pricing. Who knows, a new purchasing model could evolve (one office for all the insitutions), same for payroll, accounting, IT, sponsored research offices, etc. (all back offices). It could work – but you need to take that step and move forward. Individual cuts will hurt all institutions. I worked in this system for 5 years and if any system could start from scratch (everything on the table) this system is one that is small enough to be successful in major change. They could be a leader in a new education model.

    F. John Case
    FJ Case Consulting, LLC
    Chapel Hill, NC

  • jcas3309

    A very difficult time for Nevada and many other states. Higher education will have to make pretty deep cuts in all areas of many institutions to balance their budgets. Like a broken record, I continue to emphasize a new business model is needed in public (and private) higher education! Maybe instead of looking at each institution individually, the state system should review its structure, business model, academic model, and pricing. Who knows, a new purchasing model could evolve (one office for all the institutions), same for payroll, accounting, IT, sponsored research offices, etc. (all back offices). It could work – but you need to take that step and move forward. Individual cuts will hurt all institutions. I worked in this system for 5 years and if any system could start from scratch (everything on the table) this system is one that is small enough to be successful in major change. They could be a leader in a new education model.

    F. John Case
    FJ Case Consulting, LLC
    Chapel Hill, NC

  • rsp0001

    How can everybody use faulty judgment and then be surprised when things do not work? UNLV has no history and a record of growth that mirrors the strip that it emulates. The mirror is cracked. The system board is excessively politicized, cronyism prevails, waste is excessive. The latest political college built and not funded was not needed. Some struggling two-year colleges are now offering 4-year degrees on declining budgets. Efficiency and waste within the fragmented system is blatant. The casino industry sends most profits out of state. Impoverished immigrants flood the city-state and feed the coffers of unions and democratic interests. The largest public school system like the fastest growing higher ed system in NV is a facade of poor government and poor management.

    It is a good time to start over. More money cannot fix what is being done here.

  • charliemonoxide

    Since when is higher education a “pet program?” Do you really believe it is that unimportant?

  • keis8427

    “Idealism sometimes suffers at the hands of reality. ” Very well put raymcc85

  • edwoof

    Here’s how you fix it. All state legislators have to send their kids to public schools in the state where they serve.

  • lydiatimmins

    I teach broadcast newswriting, and on the first day of class I explain to the students that “criticism” does not always mean “you are a bad communicator”. It means “here’s where you can improve.” And I remind them of that throughout the course. It seems to work, they seem to welcome suggestions for improvement.

  • missoularedhead

    With students, I’ve found one of the best ways to break the conflation of personal worth and critiquing their work is to offer up a piece of my own. I give them a short paper I wrote as an undergrad, and tell them to edit it. Then I tell them I wrote it. They realize that writing is a constant process, rather than a all or nothing proposition. Well, at least some of them do.

    As for colleagues, some people are just prickly, and seem to revel in taking offense. Those people, I just try to avoid.  

  • look123

    I think you did the right thing. Students need to know where their skills are lacking and be willing to help themselves by doing something such as going to the writing center. Students also need to emotionally toughen up a bit. If they can’t handle a suggestion to get help in school, then how will they react to a critical supervisor in a job their degree helped them get? They may not have that job for long.

    One suggestion I can think of when talking to a student after class is to start off by telling the student that you found their subject matter interesting. Was your students paper about a sensitive issue such as cancer, racism, or AIDS?  They could have thought you were disapproving of the subject matter.   Remind the student that your job is to help them hone in and write about two sides of one point of their chosen subject matter. Remind the student you welcome the opportunity to work one-on-one with them during your office hours. This shows a student that you are engaged in their learning process and not just ‘passing-them-off’ to another department the student may perceive as a place that deals with ‘the-stupid-students.’

  • mbelvadi

    It sounds like you’re assuming that her report about the tutoring being a waste of time was just more complaining.  It’s possible that your institution does have a quality problem there, and that will undermine what good teachers like you are trying to encourage. You might want to follow up with her about that, and possibly contact the coordinator as well.

  • jffoster

    You didn’t cause offense.  The little twit tookoffense.

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