Takeaway: Come to a town hall discussion Tuesday, March 5, at 7 p.m., and learn the facts you need to know about the Rutgers budget system and how it shortchanges all of us. Click here to RSVP, then share the link with a colleague!
Dear colleague,
Last week, President Holloway used his annual budget speech to the University Senate to repeat his administration’s claim that our university has a “structural deficit,” necessitating painful cutbacks and budget restrictions. We know what these claims mean for us and our students: classes canceled for lecturers, heavier teaching loads and overwork, class sizes growing each semester.
But President Holloway’s speech didn’t tell the whole story about the Rutgers budget. He didn’t say that the university’s financial reserves have climbed to nearly $900 million—almost double what they were four years before. He didn’t say that state funding for Rutgers increased by 8.4 percent to over $1.1 billion, including extra money won through our strike to help pay for our contracts. He didn’t say that athletics department losses accounted for over 60 percent of last year’s operating deficit.
Another misleading claim: Holloway stated that “responsibility for academic budgetary decisions [lies] with the chancellors, deans, and chairs.” But under the RCM budget system, those decisions are based on what the central administration decides departments are going to keep from the revenue they generate from tuition, grants, and so on. This puts our departments in a financial straitjacket, forcing them to scramble to balance their budgets—while the administration spends the money they take off the top without any transparency.
Our unions are holding a town hall discussion on Tuesday, March 5, at 7 p.m., where you can learn the facts about the Rutgers budget system and how it’s organized to shortchange all of us—students, staff, grad workers, and faculty. Our colleagues from the University Budget and Priorities Committee will explain how the system works (and doesn’t work!). Then we’ll go into breakouts by campus to discuss our individual experiences—and what we can do about the RU budget screw. Click here to RSVP and then share the link with colleagues and friends!
In solidarity,
Rutgers AAUP-AFT, Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union, and AAUP-BHSNJ
Rutgers AAUP-AFT Facebook page: https://facebook.com/RUaaup/
Follow us on Twitter @ruaaup and Instagram @rutgersaaup
Freedom School YouTubeChannel: https://rutgersaaup.org/YouTube
Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/rutgersptlfc
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @ruaaup_ptl
Visit our website: https://rutgers-ptlfc.org/
AAUP-BHSNJ website: https://onerutgersfaculty.org/
AAUP-BHSNJ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RUaaupbhsnj