New staff positions were generally funded from reallocation rather than increase in staff. Kathryn then moved to a list of the priorities coming up in the future that will drive budget discussions. They include targets for compensation, endowment, major maintenance, tuition demand for non-faculty teaching support, and funding information technology. We all need to think about these issues and insure that the budget reflects the goals and needs of the institution. Nor is there a clear statement of how these compensation needs are to be met.
Administrative staff suffers in budget planning because there is no target.
A corollary issue raised by a member of the audience concerned the expansion of size of the college and its effect on administrative staff, especially in light of the reluctance to expand the size of departments. The discussion moved to an understanding of the relationship between staff numbers and compensation equity in a budget of finite resources. No clear opinion emerged. Betty Trout-Kelly reported on progress in the area of Multicultural affairs. She stressed that developing diversity and awareness was something that was the job of everyone in the campus community through communication, collaboration, and moving out into the larger community.