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MSU president talks
budget challenges
Published Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009
(This is the first in a two-part series of stories regarding remarks
made by Mississippi State University President Dr. Mark Keenum during
a recent visit to Corinth.)
By Brant Sappington
Staff Writer
In his first week as president of Mississippi State University, Dr. Mark Keenum was hit with a bombshell.
“My first week on the job in January the governor announced a 5 percent cut to all state agencies,” recalled Keenum.
The university president and graduate of Corinth High School and Northeast Mississippi Community College, in town this week to serve as keynote speaker at the annual Prentiss County Development Foundation dinner and awards banquet, said the announcement sent him and his fellow officials into high gear looking for ways to absorb the cuts.
Keenum said they were able to locate enough expenditures that could be delayed to offset this initial round of revenue reductions, but knew there would be more to come.
As state tax revenues continue to fall short of projections due to the shaky economy, education in the state faces big questions about how to deal with reductions in state support that are only expected to get worse.
“It’s probably the absolute biggest challenge confronting not only our institution, but all of education,” said Keenum.
After weathering the storm in fiscal year 2009, fiscal year 2010 began on a hopeful note as the state legislature provided a budget which replaced the previous cut and left funding level. Only weeks into the new fiscal year, however, the governor again announced a 5 percent cut because of shortfalls in tax collections.
Keenum said MSU was prepared for this reduction because it had been anticipated and they had built their budget for the current fiscal year on the assumption they would only receive 95 percent of projected funding.
He said he feels confident they will make it through the current year in good shape, but as the amount of stimulus monies available to shore up the budget decline, projected tax revenues remain behind and demands from all state agencies rise he expects to see continued reductions from the current funding levels.
The president said he believes they will see revenues fall to as much as 20 percent below current levels by 2012.
“It’s not a pretty picture for higher education. It’s going to force every university to get as efficient as they can in the operations on their campus,” he said.
Keenum said he’s already established a task force at the university made up of administrators, faculty members, staff leaders and others to look at the situation and the data available and find ways to be more efficient.
He said they plan to look at all programs operated by the university and consider their cost in comparison with the number of graduating students as well as the amount of research dollars brought in and other factors to determine where money can be saved.
He said they must also consider contract requirements regarding tenured and tenure track faculty. He said it’s also vital that they provide for students who are currently enrolled in programs and have come to the university with the expectation they will be able to complete their studies.
Keenum said there are ongoing discussions with the other state universities through the state board for Institutions of Higher Learning about ways the system can become more efficient by centralizing administrative functions such as payroll, purchasing, human resources and information technology services.
The president said his primary goal is to make certain the university continues to provide a top quality education and remains one of the nation’s best institutions of higher learning.
“My overriding principle is that we will not diminish the reputation of our university, whatever we do. We will not diminish the quality of our teaching or our research or our services,” he said.
