Chancellor’s 2011-12 budget message
In his annual budget call letter to vice chancellors, Chancellor Birgeneau lays out a strategy to bridge Berkeley's funding gap "by utilizing all of the resources at our disposal."
April 1, 2011
Noting “the uncertainty in this year’s planning process,” Chancellor Robert Birgeneau’s 2011-12 budget message to vice chancellors calls for a total of $30 million in savings from across campus units, while identifying a series of temporary measures intended to help keep Berkeley moving toward long-term sustainability. The budget strategy, he says, “focuses on bridging over our funding gap by utilizing all of the resources at our disposal.”
The chancellor’s annual budget call letter projects a campus shortfall ranging from $102-$112 million for this fiscal year. That figure, he explains, is based on Berkeley’s $70-$80 million share of state-funding cuts to the UC system, and some $32 million required for faculty merit raises, represented-staff salary increases, purchased utilities, benefits and retirement contributions.
Nearly half the budget gap, the chancellor writes, is expected to be closed by savings and revenue from measures already taken or underway, including Operational Excellence, tuition increases and a boost in out-of-state and international student enrollments. Another $30 million will come from a one-time use of $30 million of central reserves previously set aside for self-insurance purposes.
Vice chancellors have until April 25 to provide “high-level financial projections” that will form the basis for budget hearings in May.