More fluff from the admins
[Dear Colleagues,]
I'm sure that you received Ch*nc377or H37__'s message to the campus community on the economy and the university s budget as well as President White's email earlier this week. I suspect that neither of their messages came as a complete surprise to any of you, given the challenging circumstances our university, state, nation, and global economies have been dealing with. As you know, the university has been working hard over the past couple of years to address the problem of vastly increased energy costs, and with the recent downturn in the markets and broader economy, the challenges to our institution have increased substantially.
It is clearly a time for our very best thinking and planning, and I want to let you know that all our unit executive officers have already begun meeting regularly in order to address these issues with creativity and wisdom. Over the next several weeks, we will be developing various specific plans, so that we will be prepared if and when the college is asked to shoulder a fair share of the financial pressures confronting the campus. At the same time, we view these circumstances as an opportunity to examine what we do carefully and to think imaginatively about our short-term and long-term future. No doubt, the heads and directors of our units will be involving many of you in this planning.
Given the excellence of our faculty and staff and their particularly deep understanding of creativity, I believe that we will be more than equal to the task of meeting these challenges.
This letter is so clearly without substance that the euphemism for layoffs jumps out at one even more, does not it? Needless to say, emphasis was provided by the editor...
With respect TF, it is always a fundamental error to assume that such missives are "without substance"! There is, indeed, a lot of substance in it, but (as ever) it is carefully buried below the surface. The reason for this is that, when actions arise, reference back to the document can safely be made to show that nothing will have come as a "surprise".
Two telling sentences may be highlighted:
a)
As you know, the university has been working hard over the past couple of years to address the problem of vastly increased energy costs, and with the recent downturn in the markets and broader economy, the challenges to our institution have increased substantially.
Since there is no way of reducing energy costs (i.e. because there will be a legal requirement to maintain a minimum level of warmth for the working environment) this will already have been exercising the brains of your finance department (as is said). As for the downturn in the economy, that also represents a further drain upon resources that is beyond the control of the institution.
So...the transparent statement spells out clearly that Outgoings are now considerably greater than Income, and that severe cutbacks will be needed in order to maintain even a semblance of parity with financial requirements.
b)
At the same time, we view these circumstances as an opportunity to examine what we do carefully and to think imaginatively about our short-term and long-term future. No doubt, the heads and directors of our units will be involving many of you in this planning.
Beginning with the age-old political cliché that "every difficulty presents an opportunity", you are here being lectured about the need to see the impending cutbacks as an actual
improvement in your position. You are gently being reminded that your institution is so strong through its cunning creativity that no matter what cuts are made it will not merely survive but
get stronger! But (as with the previous memo) this will - you are instructed - happen because everybody will be expected to work considerably longer and harder.
In a situation where Income is insufficient to provide for Outgoings, and in which the only control upon Outgoings is entirely "local", the puzzle has a clear solution (and one that is completely inevitable):
a) Income is through Funding and Student Fees. The former will at best remain static and more likely will decrease. The pressure therefore will be entirely upon maintaining and even increasing student numbers. This means that even if nobody is sacked or "paid off" the workload will increase
b) The only "local" costs that can be cut back relate to Salaries and Resources (which are entirely within the control of the institution). In order properly to "manage" all this, there will certainly not be any cutbacks in the administrative staffing - indeed there may have to be new appointments of further "specialists" to advise and execute the cuts. This means (inexorably) that the personnel to be reduced can only be amongst the
academic establishment. By pruning down courses, reducing teaching resources, and getting rid of a sufficient number of academics, the Outgoings costs can be substantially reduced.
Note the careful position of the adverb "carefully" in the second extract above...
At the same time, we view these circumstances as an opportunity to examine what we do carefully and to think imaginatively about our short-term and long-term future.
It is not the
examination that is necessarily going to be undertaken "carefully" (since it may have to be cold-blooded and brutal), but rather the examination will be intended to reveal what (to the examiners) appears to show "carelessness and waste" upon the part of
others. This is no mere lapse in syntax, but a careful beneath-the-surface statement of intent.
Good luck!
Baz
