1990-04-06. MUN Gazette, vol. 22, no. 16

              Gazette
Memorial
1 University of Newfoundland
Volume 22    Number 16
April 6, 1990
Hiring freeze continues, new cuts announced
Balancing university budget difficult
Despite an apparent increase of approximately six per cent in operating
funds, Memorial is experiencing difficulty
in striking a balance in its budget. Earlier,
Dr. Leslie Harris, president, announced an
interim hiring freeze and now he says further measures are being taken to make up
the difference. "We have eliminated approximately $4 million from capital operating costs and many of the projects we have
had to drop are of critical importance," he
said. "These include such things as roof
repairs, road improvements, classroom
renovation, replacement of desks and other
classroom equipment, repairs to tunnels
and other necessary projects."
Considerable shortfall
"We have eliminated a further $3.5 million
from requests for faculty and staff appointments and replacements. Again, all of these
appointments were deemed by the deans and
directors as being necessary and essential.
"Having done all that, we are still considerably short of balancing the budget and we
are now looking at programs and operations" said the president.
A committee of university officials has
spent the last few weeks preparing a
thorough analysis of the budget in an effort
to determine the extent of the shortfall and
possible areas where cuts could be made.
Cutting back, raising revenue
"The review is still ongoing but we have to
fmd the means to affect a balance in the
budget that we present to the Board of
Regents later this month," said Dr. Harris.
"In addition to cutting back we also have
to look at revenue-generating mechanisms
such as raising tuition, which is a possibility. But other than that we have very
limited options."
This is not the first time that Memorial
has experienced budgetary restraint. "It
seems to happen every year," said Dr. Harris, "and it gets worse, mainly because our
base budget has never been sufficient
"This year, the difficulty has been
compounded because the base has been
further deflated through an accident of
timing." Dr. Harris explained: "Towards
the end of the 1988-89 fiscal year, the
government provided a $1.5 million addition to our capital account. This sum
could not, however, be spent in that fiscal
year and was carried over to 1989-90. In
consequence, the actual government grant
for 1989-90 was $1.5 million greater than
the official figure upon which our increase for the current year is based. Thus,
while the increase for the current year is
apparently 6.45 per cent, it is in actual
terms only 4.91 per cent," he said.
Inflation higher
"Further compounding the problem is the
fact that the inflation rate for many
university consumables, and particularly
the carry-over effect of last year's large
salary increases, is considerably higher
than the increase in the standard consumer price index.
"Moreover, there has been growth in
new programs, such as pharmacy and fine
arts, and our physical space, notably extensions to the medical school and the
opening of the CERR building.
"In short," said the president, "our
costs have grown much more rapidly than
our revenue."
Price to pay
Inadequate funding, said Dr. Harris, is
reflected in the ability of the administration
to provide services and facilities for students.
"The fabric of the place suffers," he said.
"Old plant and equipment which breaks
down, the deteriorating quality of the classrooms and classroom materials, desks,
audio visual equipment, the lack of space
for recreation and social activities — these
are some of the prices we pay when we
cut back."
NSERC grants approved
Research funding
exceeds $4 million
Memorial researchers in a variety of
disciplines will receive in excess of
$4 million in funding from the Natural
Sciences and Engineering Research
Council (NSERC) as a result of the
February 1990 competition.
A total of 181 projects have been approved for funding which includes
operating grants, conference and infrastructure support and grants for equipment. Two additional projects are still
pending approval.
Dr. Niall Gogan, Memorial's associate
vice-president (research), says the operating grant total represents a five per cent
increase over last year's level. "It was a
good performance this year, particularly
on the operating side of things," says Dr.
Gogan. "The funding increase we
received was a little better than the national average so this is encouraging.
"We could have done better in equipment funding, but that is something
which fluctuates from year to year. Last
year, our equipment funding was up, this
year it is down. Funding of that nature
tends to go in cycles. However, the real
measure of health of the university's research program is operational funding
and here we are very competitive."
Dr. Gogan noted that Memorial receives
approximately $23 million a year for research projects and that the NSERC funding represents the largest single amount "It
is the biggest sum from any single funding
agency and its dispersal is very wide among
a total of 16 departments. Some departments do proportionately better than others
and there are areas where we could do better, but in general the quality of our faculty
and the work they are undertaking usually
guarantees a good success rate in NSERC
competitions."
Workshop planned
In an effort to enhance researchers' opportunities to receive NSERC funding in future, Dr. Gogan says a workshop is being
planned for May. "This will primarily be to
provide information to Memorial science
and engineering researchers on NSERC
funding, how to better prepare funding requests and, overall, how to successfully
apply for grants, for continuation of funding and how to improve grants," he said.
The Office of Research will organize the
workshop and has invited NSERC officials
to participate as well.
For further details of the 1990 NSERC
grants, see Research, p. 10.
Those special graduates!
During their recent tour of Russia, students congregate in Novgorod on the
steps of an 18th-century Russian Orthodox church, built in the village peasant
style. (L-R, clockwise): Steve Bonnell; Denise McGrath; Rhonda Wiseman;
Rod Squires; Jeff Gillingham; Aiden Markin; Aisling Gogan; and Duke
Newhook.
For our special convocation issue,
the Gazette needs information on
graduates who are unique, who have
overcome obstacles, who have accomplished the extraordinary — in
essence, graduates who are different
from most others. Whatever the cir
cumstances, we want to know about
it and let the rest of the university
comni       ■-       «i the story.
If you have such information, please
contact the editor by calling 737-
8665, or drop off your suggestion at
our offices, A1024.
INSIDE
Molecular activity of
drugs studied 2
Telephone registration 2
SCHOLARSHIP SUPPLEMENT
listings, features 5-8
NSERC awards 10