In an attempt to deal with the state budget crisis and improve internal efficiency, the UC Office of the President has enacted a series of measures to downsize staff and restructure operations since November 2008, cutting its current operating budget by $60.4 million.
The Office of the President, which serves as the central administrative office for the University of California, was able to decrease operating costs by transferring programs previously administered by the central office to UC campuses and initiating a voluntary employee buyout program.
‘These efforts are part of the ongoing efforts at UCOP to downsize and restructure the Office of the President,’ UC spokesman Paul Schwartz said. ‘[The goal is] to be more efficient and better serve the campuses and to respond to the state budget situations as part of the university.’
Schwartz explained that non-campus-specific programs such as the Continuing Education of the Bar Program ‘mdash; which provides services for UC-trained lawyers ‘mdash; were previously located at the central office but will now be moved elsewhere. Roughly half of the central office’s total reported budget savings stemmed from such initiatives.
Schwartz emphasized the budgetary importance of cutting UCOP down to only its core programs.
‘[The Continuing Education of the Bar Program] really does not have anything to do with the core functions of the president’s office as the central administrative office,’ Schwartz said. ‘That doesn’t need to be here and can be located elsewhere, [as well as] other kinds of academic programs that are systemwide or multicampus.’
The voluntary severance program, which examines a university employee’s current salary and number of years at UCOP to determine the size and nature of the buyout package, was accepted by 155 employees and is expected to save $5 million annually.
Additional funds were also saved by restricting executive travel and decreasing consulting expenses while consolidating and reorganizing departments within the central administrative offices.
The total UCOP operating budget for 2008-09 now stands at $230.1 million.
‘This is a significant achievement made possible by the dedication and hard work of the staff at the Office of the President,’ Executive Vice President of Business Operations Katie Lapp said. ‘Many participated in helping to design new consolidated units, and many more have shouldered additional responsibilities as the work force has been reduced. It has been a painful and difficult time, yet the staff has continued to fulfill the mission of the university.’
The changes have been motivated partly by the state budget crisis and the resulting cuts to higher education. The Office of the Governor estimates the current state debt to be’ approximately $16 billion, and UC funding has been cut by $132 million since last year. In November 2008, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed a series of additional midyear cuts, estimated at $60.5 million.
The Office of the President plans to continue to review its programs and services that could be delivered by campuses and third-party vendors, and aims to reduce its workforce by 275 positions and $25 million by 2009-10.
‘We have to wait and see and understand what the proposed budget [cuts] mean,’ Schwartz said. ‘Clearly this is a very difficult budget environment. We are not yet done with the restructuring effort.’
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