Interim Provost Gerry Bradley addressed the faculty senate with information on student enrollment and departmental budgets. Data collected through last fall semester revealed student enrollment was under projection for both undergraduate and professional students. For this reason, the university entered the spring 2022 semester with roughly $4 million less than anticipated. Although a similar budgetary loss was anticipated for this spring term, strong enrollment and retention rates mitigated this effect, leaving the spring semester budget at a deficit of $1.5 million.

“All in all, we were down about $5.5 million dollars. The budget teams, especially in the units that have been impacted by lower enrollment than expected, have carried a lot of weight trying to work through that. We also made adjustments centrally and allocated discretionary funds to support those units,” Bradley said. “Overall, we are confident we can go forward, finish out the budget year and break even as we do every year.”

Bradley attributed this confidence to an overall increase in first-year student applications and admits for next academic year. All budgets for the next academic year are currently being developed, and increases to employee pay have been identified as an institutional priority.

“As we are developing our budgets now, we certainly want to build in things we know are important. We need to build in a pay increase, and we are committed to that. That is certainly critical for us to recruit and retain our faculty and staff here in this institution, who we know have gone through a trying two years with COVID-19,” Bradley said.

Faculty members Lauren Freeman and Avery Kolers presented senators with the proposal for a new academic program, the . The proposal moved for transition of the current master of arts in interdisciplinary studies-health care ethics, which is housed in graduate school, to the department of philosophy under the rubric of applied philosophy. The 33-credit hour program offered through the College of Arts and Sciences was proposed for implementation during the fall 2022 semester. Senators unanimously approved the proposed academic program.

Committee reports and a of the meeting can be accessed on the . The next Faculty Senate meeting is scheduled for April 6 via a hybrid format with the option of remote attendance via Teams, or in-person attendance at Ekstrom Library’s Chao Auditorium.

Chief Financial Officer Dan Durbin told senators the university entered the academic year with a balanced budget with expectations to generate sufficient revenue to cover expenses. These costs included last fall’s 1% salary raise and $1,000 bonus for university employees, and the return of retirement contributions to pre-COVID levels.

“We also had a provision for an additional 1% raise in the spring; we said we would revisit that raise based on how we were doing from a tuition revenue standpoint,” Durbin said. “We have looked through the fall semester and through spring registration. The good news is our tuition revenues are higher than last year; the challenging news is that those tuition revenues are below budget by almost $7.9 million.”

Despite this challenge, administration maintained the additional raise would be within the best interest of the university. The 1% raise was authorized by the Board of Trustees and went into effect in March. Senators were informed that a financial plan was developed to ensure adequate funding for the institution-wide pay increase. Tactics of this financial plan included withholding a 3% contingency back from the units to cover unforeseen costs, as well as an increased emphasis on the importance of funding available to colleges and units through the University of Louisville Foundation.

“While we have tactics to ensure that raise, we still continue to work on enrollment not only for spring, but for the fall and beyond. Applications look really encouraging at the moment, but it’s all hands on deck to make sure we can get back to our original estimates on enrollment so the university can be on good, solid footing next year,” Durbin said.

Kari Aikins, director of Total Rewards for UofL, provided senators with information on the . Segal, an HR consulting firm with expertise in higher education, is currently reviewing data collected from the employee survey. The survey closed March 1, and an aggregate report of this data, which Is being generated by Segal, will provide input on remaining aspects of the HR initiative.

“One of the projects that this data will be used for will be our guiding principles and compensation philosophy, which we want to make sure aligns with our employee feedback and incorporates that input. We will also be using the data as we move through benchmarking, development of the career progression, leveling and some other components of the study that are still to come,” Aikins said.

Committee reports and a of the virtual meeting can be found on the . The next Staff Senate meeting will be held April 12 via Microsoft Teams.

Interim President Lori Gonzalez provided senators with current student enrollment and retention figures. A decline in undergraduate enrollment compared to last year was reported. Gonzalez said that administration anticipated this decrease and despite the current dip in student enrollment, current figures for the fall 2022 term show promise. Figures for the fall 2022 semester include a 6% increase in student applications, 14% increase in admissions and 30% increase in deposits.

Gonzalez further reported an increase in student retention rate of 91% from the fall 2021 to spring 2022 semester, improving upon the 86% student retention rate reported the previous year.

“Our fall to spring retention for first-year students is back to pre-pandemic levels, which is pretty amazing,” Gonzalez said. “Getting back in class and having the right kind of experience, I think, has made a big difference.”

Dan Durbin, executive vice president for finance and administration, and Keith Sherman, executive director and chief operating officer of the , presented information on the university budget and available funding currently offered through the foundation. Durbin provided an overview of the university’s $1.3 billion budget for fiscal year 2022. General or unrestricted funds are used to cover the unrestricted operating expenses incurred by the university; this funding accounts for about 40% of the institution’s total budget.

“Our unrestricted funding is made up of tuition, fees and state appropriations. Tuition and fees are influenced by external and internal factors, so we have very limited latitude when it comes to increasing unrestricted operating funds from tuition and fees,” Durbin said. “Our state appropriation is about $130 million a year; $127 million of that is base, and we have to earn the other $3 million through the Performance Funding model, so that $3 million is always at risk.”

Performance funding is reallocated each year based on each university’s performance relative to other institutions in the state. UofL performed better than the sector average in seven of the 11 performance metrics used to determine state performance funding. Despite a slight increase in 2022, state funding for the university has generally declined over the past decade.

The university’s general fund budget will soon face several significant challenges, including inflation, employee compensation increases and the 2025 demographic cliff projected to impact higher education enrollment and institutional aide nationwide. As neither state allocation nor tuition increases can meet these financial obstacles fully, units have been encouraged to take advantage of the $82 million that is currently available through the University of Louisville Foundation.

Sherman reported the total foundation funding, which includes both endowment and current use funds, is available to each UofL school and college. Senators were also provided with a recommended order of spending for all funding, both restricted and nonrestricted, to reduce general fund spending and maximize UofL’s budgetary efficiency.

“Grant monies typically need to be returned to the grantor if you don’t spend them, so you should spend those funds first. Then go to your restricted endowments and your restricted non-endowed gifts [before spending] your unrestricted money. Your unrestricted money is gold because you can do anything you want with it. We recommend spending unrestricted gifts before your unrestricted endowments because non-endowed gifts don’t grow.” said Sherman.

Committee reports and a of the meeting can be accessed on the . The next Faculty Senate meeting is scheduled for Feb. 8 and will take place remotely via Microsoft Teams.

Executive Vice President for Finance Dan Durbin unveiled the proposed budget at a Board of Trustees workshop in late May. UofL is projecting an overall operating budget of $1.32 billion from all funds, including a general fund budget of $536.3 million.

Durbin stressed that the budget aligns closely with the university’s strategic plan, particularly focusing on making UofL a great place to learn by channeling significant funding toward student affordability and additional investments in academic areas

Returning students will pay less to attend UofL in 2021-22

The budget includes a $104 per semester tuition increase for all undergraduate and graduate students. However, that increase will be more than offset for continuing undergrads in 2021-22 by a minimum $400 per student per semester grant from UofL through CARES Act funding. Highest-need students can receive a maximum award of $1,500 in the fall with a mean award value of $781 across the continuing undergraduate students. Continuing graduate and professional students may also apply for CARES funding.

“Student affordability was priority one for us,” Durbin said. “Just as we did this past year, we are directing our CARES Act funding directly into our students’ pockets.”

In addition, students will see no increase in housing, dining or parking fees this year.

And, for the second consecutive year, UofL has purchased 700 laptop computers to support first-time students with the highest financial need.

Faculty and staff to receive salary bump, no increase in health insurance

The budget proposal also includes significant support for faculty and staff. Durbin noted the budget includes $5.2 million for a compensation supplement program. That includes a 1% salary increase as of August 1 and another potential increase in January based on the university meeting certain enrollment and financial targets.

Faculty and staff support also will include:

• Employee retirement benefits, reduced as part of cost-reduction efforts in 2020, will be restored on July 1 to an automatic university contribution of 7.5% for eligible employees, with an additional 2.5% match for a like employee contribution
• No increase in employee health insurance premiums for the second consecutive year, with the cost increase entirely borne by the university
• No parking fee increase for faculty or staff; monthly rates as low as $26 per month for full-time employees
• No change in the employee tuition remission plans (100% for eligible employees and their dependents)

“Even in tough financial times, it is vital that we invest in our people, whether they’re students, faculty or staff,” Durbin said. “We always wish we could do more, but this represents a sincere effort to support all members of our campus community.” ����

Fiscal 2021 ends with balanced budget

Durbin and Rick Graycarek, assistant vice president for budget and financial planning, told the trustees the university expects to end Fiscal Year 2021 on June 30 with a balanced budget due to prudent financial planning and controls on spending throughout campus. Increased grant funding and better-than-expected enrollment were among the reasons cited for the strong budget.

The balanced budget is particularly important, Durbin said, as it shows a rebound from the financial crisis passed to President Bendapudi and her team by prior administrations. Only three years ago, the university’s poor financial status led to potential sanctions from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), which accredits higher education institutions, including UofL.

“What this administration – and this university – has done in the past three years is truly remarkable,” Durbin said. “The entire campus should be proud. Every corner of campus contributed to this financial turnaround.”

The university’s strong financial performance has been acknowledged by the world’s largest credit rating agencies. Both S&P Global Ratings (formerly known as Standard and Poor’s) and Moody’s Investors Service recently confirmed UofL’s progress by enhancing its financial outlook from “negative” to “stable.” That recognition helps reduce the interest rates on some university debt and further enhances the university’s profile in higher education. The tuition rate increase still must be approved by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary ����ֱ�� this month.

Miles spoke about the university’s efforts to file mass unemployment claims on behalf of employees for the first time in UofL’s history.

“We’ve never done it before and we’ve learned very quickly the ins and outs, in very interesting times,” she said.��

She explained that the state’s unemployment office has been inundated with requests and has struggled with an internal change of leadership and outdated filing systems.

“Apparently the individual process has been even more challenging. More systems have been just completely shut down where people have no way to get in. And the wait times, although they are long all over the place, are even worse,” Miles said. “So I just want you all to know that despite the frustration we have with the mass e-filing process, it’s still in the best interest of our university community and we’re glad that we did it.”

The Human Resources office has been writing daily to the state’s unemployment office on behalf of employees. HR staff have taken measures to stay in close contact with employees, including university text messages and personal phone calls, to ensure time-sensitive actions are completed. They also created a dedicated to all the questions that employees have brought forward during the process.

HR staff ensure every unemployment question submitted to their office gets answered or addressed on the same day. They have worked closer than usual with Staff Senate Chair John Smith and the SHARE committee to ensure employees having a difficult time with the unemployment process receive help.

Senators asked several clarifying questions and inquired about the options for continuing to work remotely when campus operations resume in the fall.

“We are looking at it, we recognize there are lots of people out there who need to possibly have some sort of modifications or need to be able to do things a little bit differently than we did before. And we also need to understand that the university, there’s going to be some things that it needs and we are going to try to balance that.”

President Bendapudi reported on the outcomes of her meeting with the Black Student Union, which can be found here, and she discussed why the university strongly supports the Black Lives Matter movement.

“When we say ‘Black Lives Matter’ what that means is not at all saying other people are unimportant,” she said. “When people say systemic racism, it doesn’t mean you are racist, or I am racist. It says there is something wrong with the system where over time this is happening, and we need to look at what are those barriers and how do we overcome that.”

Bendapudi emphasized that the university’s mission is part of the solution.

“There’s many ways I believe in higher education. I truly believe that higher education has the promise of transforming people’s lives. I would not be here if it weren’t for education. So we have to be true to our mission. I will always come back to ‘let’s educate, let’s do better education, better work, so that we make our local police better and the best practices make everybody better,’” she said.

Staff Senate Chair John Smith reported that the Senate body should put forth a statement of support for the Black Lives Matter movement, but that it should have input. Smith hopes for it to be more than words of support.

“We’d like to have a two-week window for [senators] to send us ideas for … changes that we can advocate for from our platform as the Senate as a whole. We would really like the Senate to be an action group in this arena,” he said.��

Smith briefly shared budget updates from the June Board of Trustees meeting. Based on three different scenarios—all in-person classes, hybrid classes, or all online classes— the university is planning for three various levels of impact to the FY 2021 budget.

“The enrollment and state revenue are the two wild cards that we just don’t know, that are going to drive a lot of which one of these three scenarios we fall in,” he said.

Senators expressed concern about furloughs potentially getting extended. Senators requested that data be made available on how many furloughs have been issued thus far and a campus breakdown of where those furloughs took place. Smith confirmed that he will present those concerns in his next meeting with the president. A formal update on the university’s financial situation is also forthcoming.

Chief Operating Officer Mark Watkins confirmed that $27,995.57 thus far has been reimbursed to remote-working employees who requested refunds. Additionally, $36,293.98 worth of parking fee deductions have stopped for all furloughed employees for the duration of their furlough.

Senator Angela Lewis-Klein reported that the Executive Committee of the Staff Senate recommends the 2020 Senate year be considered a “grace year” due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the operations of the Staff Senate. They also recommended the tabling of Senate seat elections, including the officers, until the 2021 Senate year. All recommendations passed.

Committee reports and a full video recording of the virtual meeting can be found on the .

The next Staff Senate meeting will be held July 14 via Microsoft Teams.

“Every member of our Cardinal family will be impacted by the actions that we are announcing today; admittedly, some more than others,” Bendapudi said. “I ask that everyone continue to show compassion to our colleagues and that we remain united through the coming weeks…We will continue to keep compassion, transparency and all of our Cardinal Principles at the forefront of our minds when addressing our financial realities. We will get through this together and we will continue to communicate with you every step of the way.”

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Additionally, UofL chief financial officer Dan Durbin explains the financial impacts on the university and UofL’s efforts to mitigate the financial challenges in the video below.��

Dr. Kevin Gardner,��the new��Executive Vice President for Research & Innovation, was��introduced to the senate body and provided a summary of his background��and vision for��UofL’s research enterprise.��

“The vision is that our enterprise represents all the activity here and all that’s in the world: Meeting the needs of��the public. Solving and addressing problems. Presenting ideas and research to the world with the aim that it helps the world,” he said.��

Before arriving to UofL, Gardner served in a similar role at the University of New Hampshire where he��led��that institution’s rise from��its designation as��an R2��university��to an R1��university.��Since starting his position in��late January,��Gardner has��met��with multiple��deans from various colleges, library staff and faculty members to understand the technology��and research development��needs of UofL.

He��will��soon��announce��several different��work��groups to address the most pressing needs based on these conversations��and��three open forums��will��also��be��scheduled.��

Gardner��concluded his introduction with comments on how��he thinks about the��external role��of the enterprise.����

“How are we��helping the university navigate the relationship between the faculty who��are��the lead of an idea, and��then��liaison��with the companies or public that��might be interested?” he asked.��

Rick��Graycarek��, AVP for Budget & Financial Planning, gave a budget update.��His����showcased an overview of the $1.2 billion��current��total��budget, along with an overview of the upcoming FY20-21 budget planning process.��

For action items: the Redbook Committee��will have a on its revised bylaws at the next meeting.���ճ����Academic Program Committee��proposed sending��back a����to the��Provost; and the��Planning and Budget committee��proposed the establishment of a Board of Trustees for the LARRI (Louisville Automation and Robotics Research Institute) Center. Both were approved.����

Student Government reported that elections just concluded and a new president will be named after commencement. The Staff Senate representative reported that their body recently found that of the last seven staff RIFs,��six were above the age of 40. The .��

Faculty Senate Chair��Krista Wallace-Boaz��reported that the��provost search��is��still��underway,��and candidates will��arrive��in April. Senate members will have opportunities to engage with the candidates. Also, a free speech work group that started back in April of 2019 is working to examine current policies on free speech and will build a��page on the UofL website to centralize those policies along with resources.����

Wallace-Boaz also facilitated a discussion on the��new����for��Fiscal��Year 20–21. On behalf of the parking office,��she presented a��summary��of��rates��that spanned from��FY16��to FY21��and��stated the goal was to keep the increase under 3%.��One faculty member expressed��a��grievance for this being a decision without the senate’s involvement in the process. Another member brought up their hope that future rates could be altered for part-time faculty and��be based on��salary level.��

Tracy��Eels��presented updates on behalf of the current Provost, including that the Free Speech policy committee is being co-chaired by Paul DeMarco��and Meg Hancock��to provide an��in-depth��review of student rights and code of conduct in response to the KY Free Speech act of 2019.��

The Committee on Committees & Credentials reported that elections will be coming up in May for new faculty senators. The Part-Time Faculty Committee��reported that they will soon be deploying a survey for part-time faculty.����The Faculty Athletic Representative reported that one of the��university’s��student athletes was named ACC player of the year.��Full committee reports are .��

The next Faculty Senate meeting is��scheduled for April 1 in Chao Auditorium.��

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For Fiscal Year 2019, revenues were up by 5% to about $1.1 billion, and UofL’s net position increased by $23 million, a significant increase over the prior year’s performance of $3 million.

Durbin said the university’s financial position remains strong with total assets and deferred outflows of $1.3 billion.

One area UofL has struggled with in recent years has been with liquidity, or cash on hand. But that has also improved and our current ratio has increased from 1.32x from 1.11x, Durbin noted.

“We are continuing to make progress in all areas. We have had some revenue decreases, for example with state support and foundation numbers, but all other revenue sources were higher than they were in 2018, which is all good news,” Durbin said. “Especially at the HSC campus, which has turned a corner. 2019 was a critical year and everything is pointing in the right direction.”

Durbin also noted that Q1 revenues so far are up by about 2% year-over-year, despite some challenges from enrollment numbers.

“We have more students, but they’re taking less credit hours,” he said.

A budget planning and monitoring committee has been charged to advise the president and her leadership team about the allocation of current and future financial resources and ensure they are in alignment with the university’s mission and strategic plan. Durbin is a co-chair along with Provost Beth Boehm. Three subcommittees have been formed, including a funding request subcommittee, budget model allocation and administrative activity review.

University-wide budget goals, policies and priorities that the committee is exploring include:

• Corrective budget actions to avoid deficits
• University enrollment targets
• Employee compensation changes
• Fringe benefit changes
• Evaluation of university investments in programs and activities (cost vs. benefit)
• Other changes identified by the provost and CFO
• Investments in design and use of space
• Items recommended by subcommittees
• Enhance peer understanding of our budget by being involved

For the final bullet point, Durbin said the administration is working hard to involve more people in the budget planning and monitoring process.

“The more people involved, the more people will understand the budget and be able to help and provide input,” he said.

Heidi Cooley-Cook provided an update about the inaugural Cards Come Together event in October. She said the collection drives were particularly successful, and most of those donations stayed on campus. The Cardinal Cupboard collected nearly 2,000 pounds of food, which should get the pantry through winter break.

Conservative estimates indicate that 500 students, staff, faculty and alumni were involved in the week of service. The executive committee recommends that the event continue, but to also consider other dates and times that are not associated with homecoming.

Carcyle Barrett provided an update on the bylaw revisions, noting that they are not quite ready for a first reading, but senators’ opinions about the live document are invited prior to the February meeting.

The , and includes an update from President Bendapudi and a summary of the new internal budget model. Additionally, a student wellness committee has been formed to help create a healthy environment for all students.

Chair John Smith’s . He pointed out the increasing challenge of filling committee vacancies and encouraged senators to consider volunteering for those positions.��

“As leadership continues to advocate for a ‘seat at the table,’ we need to ensure we have people willing and desirous of filling those positions,” he said.

Vice Chair , as are most standing, ad-hoc and university-wide .��

The Staff Senate won’t meet in January. The next meeting is Feb. 10 in Chao Auditorium.

The budget includes $14 million for student-based initiatives, including $5 million for student recruitment, $5 million for student success and retention initiatives and almost $4 million for additional financial aid.

In-state undergraduate students will see a 3.5-percent tuition and fee increase, to $11,460 per year, which includes a 50-percent cut in the student athletics fee, from $50 to $25 per semester. In-state graduate students will experience a 3.6-percent increase, to $12,684.

UofL President Neeli Bendapudi stressed that officials worked to keep increases low and to direct additional funding to services and programs that benefit students.

The university also will experience a 5-percent cut to its general fund budget, which equates to a 1.7-percent cut to its overall budget. Deans, vice presidents and other campus leaders will determine how to make the cuts in their units.

“This budget is not ideal, but we have to work with the financial resources we have,” Bendapudi said. “We are focused on protecting and improving the education and the university experience for all our students.”��

UofL continues to deal with diminishing state funding, a huge budget deficit created by a previous administration and a push from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to improve its liquidity, or cash on hand.��The state appropriation for UofL dropped 5 percent, from $132.8 million to $126.7 million.

“I ask for your patience and support as we make changes to strengthen the university while dealing with our fiscal reality,” Bendapudi said in a recent note to faculty and staff.��Calling the current budget a “short-term fix,” she promised that long-term solutions will be developed with the students’ best interests in mind.��

“The vast majority of time we’ve spent since January has been in the diligent resolution of past issues, and these are real problems to tackle. But they’re not our future. What I want to do is shift the emphasis away from the problems of the past and look at what we can become,” Postel said to a full crowd in Strickler Hall’s Middleton Theater.

It was a rallying cry of sorts for the president, who solicited everyone’s help to keep the campus dialogue open, to submit ideas on how best to move forward, and to stay engaged with the university.

Postel used the recent transition of UofL Hospital’s management from KentuckyOne Health to University Medical Center as an example of what can happen when everyone gets involved and works together.

“It was run as a corporate entity, more of a top down structure. People were demoralized and many left. There was a feeling that things weren’t going to get better,” Postel said. “But we work for a university, where thought leaders come together and become part of the solution. When we started the steps to bring the hospital back to UMC, hundreds of faculty and staff became engaged. It was palpable and July 1 (the transition) was like a pep rally. There is enthusiasm there now that we are in control and we are going to do it right.

“We need an analogy like that on the Belknap Campus.”

2020 Plan and 21^st Century Initiative: Where we are, where we’re going

Postel used UofL’s 2020 Plan (put into place in 2008) and 21^st Century Initiative (meant to “reinforce” the 2020 Plan with a more granular approach and put into place in 2012) as the focal point of his presentation, noting what we’ve accomplished, what we’ve missed and what opportunities remain. He also shared some of his preliminary ideas meant to facilitate better, shared dialogue on how to improve on each of the five pillars from the 2020 Plan.

“The pillars very clearly represent what’s important to the university. Here we have two points in time where a huge shared governance process took place at the university. There are so many things within (the pillars) that can be empowering to us if we choose to engage,” Postel said.

1. ����ֱ��al Excellence

UofL has improved its student-to-teacher ratio, has better integrated critical thinking, has increased PhD production and has “dramatically improved” the student experience with library renovations, the upcoming SAC renovations, more and better campus housing and LLCs, and the construction of the Belknap Academic Building.

UofL has to work on a static number of undergraduate programs, enrollment growth and, especially, graduation rates.

Some of Postel’s ideas to be better in this area include expanding the student body, cultivating creative thinking to improve graduation rates, discussing whether or not we need to start a Phi Beta Kappa chapter on campus, and redesigning the distance education program.

“If the faculty and staff desire, these are things that can be transformative,” he said.

2. Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity

Postel said research tripled in the decade after the Bucks for Brains program was launched, but since then, about 2007, growth has been more modest and goals have been missed. Clinical trials have also grown, but modestly.

Postel said more thought needs to go into the trajectory of research on this campus.

“We’ve never built a scalable infrastructure here for research. There is no valid business plan for supporting research. Research requires subsidy and not a lot of thought has been given to that in the past,” he said.

3. Diversity, Opportunity and Social Justice

UofL’s study body is more diverse than it was when the 2020 Plan was put into place. However, Postel questions whether our underrepresented student numbers have increased enough. Additionally, though more of our students are studying abroad, we’re not getting enough international students to study here.

Some of his initial ideas to move forward on this pillar include conducting and publishing a comprehensive campus climate survey, renewing our scholarship creation, enhancing pipeline programs and revisiting our recruitment policies.

4. Community Engagement

This pillar has been “tremendously successful,” according to Postel, for example yielding more than 21,000 instances of student engagement. UofL is one of 360 universities in the U.S. with a Carnegie Foundation designation, which it has received twice.

Postel hopes to use our community engagement efforts to continue being an engine for economic development, interdisciplinary research, advocacy in healthcare and more.

5. Creative and Responsible Stewardship of Resources

Postel touted UofL’s successful $1 billion campaign and the university’s active and modernized Alumni Association. However, he noted that our endowment fell well short of its $3 billion goal; we lack a sustainable model for advancement, our culture of philanthropy is inconsistent; and our donor stewardship is also inconsistent.

Postel suggests prioritizing a new donor campaign and a new approach to stewardship.

“We need to have a collective effort to renew the faith of our donor community,” he said.

Budget and beyond

Postel also quickly touched upon the budget, noting that we have a balanced budget in place with conservative assumptions, and we are reporting on the budget monthly. He also said the suggested 6-percent procurement tax has been suspended and other models are being looked at after negative feedback was received.

“We are listening and this 6-percent tax is an example of that,” he said.

Postel took a series of questions regarding communication hurdles, long distance learning, how to enable voices from the bottom up and create better structures, and what the timeframe is to “move forward.”

More forums will be scheduled in the fall semester. Postel said those will be the next step in understanding what kind of mechanisms we can put into place to maintain positive momentum.

“The bulk of my presentation today is to test campus receptivity to shifting our focus to the future. We can’t wallow in self-pity or we won’t get past this junction,” Postel said. “This is our university, if we don’t fix it, nobody will. But it’s going to take all faculty and staff to fix it. Engagement is essential.”

Dr. Postel also recently sat down with Mark Hebert, UofL’s director of programming and production, to discuss some issues in more detail. That video is available below:��