“Diversity must be part of excellence,” said Dr. Marcus Martin, UVA’s interim vice president and chief officer for diversity and equity, at the September 11 session of the University Board of Visitors. Martin’s presentation to the Special Committee on Diversity focused on the importance of promoting an inclusive environment for all students, faculty and staff.
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Leonard Sandridge, UVA’s Vice President and Chief Operating Office, sent a letter to the University community highlighting the impact of the additional budget cuts on schools, libraries and departments, which will be asked to reduce their expenditures by 2.5 percent. “Our goal has not changed,” writes Sandridge. “To reduce the likelihood of future layoffs and protect our workforce, we will continue to leave some positions open, reduce our employment levels through attrition and look for ways to consolidate the work of units where appropriate.” |
Dean of Admission Gregory Roberts reported on the current freshman class. The total number of applications received for the academic year that began a couple of weeks ago has increased significantly from last year: 21,839 applications, an increase of 17 percent (18,598 total applications last year); of that number, 3,295 enrolled as freshmen. Among them, 287 are African-Americans, an increase of 6 percent; 440 are Asians, an increase of 18 percent; 185 are Hispanics, an increase of 54 percent and 27 are Native Americans, with the highest increase of 280 percent. International students enrolling at UVA counted for 207, a 10 percent increase.
According to Roberts, the increases have to do with both the sluggish economy and the elimination of the binding early decision. In 2006, UVA dropped early decision in an effort to increase accessibility to low-income students. According to the report, 203 students enrolled in the freshman class are low-income. Yet, a higher percentage of low-income students are seen in the transfer pool: 16.3 percent with 75.4 percent of those from Virginia. The new data attest to former longtime Dean of Admission John “Jack” Blackburn’s advocacy for increased diversity on campus. Blackburn, who died from cancer in January, championed the creation of AccessUVA, an aggressive financial aid program, and the elimination of early deadline.
Even as the data presented was deemed “encouraging” by one member of the board, additional budget cuts to the University budget were announced. On September 8, Gov. Tim Kaine announced cuts up to 15 percent for all state college and universities. For UVA, that translated into an additional $19 million reduction (for 2009-2010) to the $32 million that were already cut. Yet, because Kaine plans to use one-time American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds—a.k.a. the stimulus package—to offset the reduction in the current year, UVA’s budget will be effectively cut by 8 percent, or $10.3 million. Leonard Sandridge, UVA chief operating officer, sent an e-mail highlighting what the new reduction means for the every-day operations of the University. “When tuition is added to the General Funds in the Academic Division budget,” writes Sandridge, “the overall reduction in the current year will be less than 3 percent.” Yet, in order to meet the state reduction, Sandridge reports that schools and libraries are asked to reduce state expenditures by 2.5 percent on average for the current fiscal year. For the administration, the reduction is 3 percent on average. Layoffs are not mentioned.
“Our goal has not changed,” writes Sandridge. “To reduce the likelihood of future layoffs and protect our workforce, we will continue to leave some positions open, reduce our employment levels through attrition and look for ways to consolidate the work of units where appropriate.”
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