Learning
(2009-11-16)
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COLUMBIA, MO
(KBIA) -
University of Missouri System President Gary Forsee will host a series of town hall-style meetings next month on each of the system's four campuses. KBIA's David Teeghman has this report.
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Forsee's meetings next month will address the likelihood of additional budget cuts on top of the ones that have already put a dent in system spending. Betsy Rodriguez is the Vice President of Human Resources for the UM System. She explains Forsee's decision to hold town hall style meetings on all four campuses.
"I think it's just one of many strategies to insure that faculty and staff are getting information and also able to give some feedback."
Forsee will be at MU in early December. Like his last town hall style meeting at the university a year ago, it will be in a large auditorium on campus. Exact details like date and location have not yet been decided. Next month's meeting will again focus on the concerns UM system employees have about budget cuts.
"The concerns are all over the place, I mean, people are worried about the budget...how we're going to sustain the quality of the university...some people worry about their jobs and their pay."
In an email sent to all UM System faculty and staff, Forsee says he is expecting a decrease of up to 10 percent in funding the system gets from the state. Part of Forsee's speech will address the changing sources of revenue for the system.
As state funding has decreased, the system has relied more on student tuition to sustain its budget, but Rodriguez says that model cannot hold for long.
"The children of the Baby Boomers, which is the group of kids graduating from high school now, are very large, they rival the size of the Baby Boomers, but that generation is coming to an end and the next generation of students is smaller."
UM System students did not receive the email announcing Forsee's town hall style meetings, but Rodriguez says students are welcome to attend.
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