Download and post a flyer and social media graphics!
Dear colleague,
We want you to know the facts next time you hear someone repeat the administration’s claim that Rutgers has a big budget deficit, so tuition had to go up, classes need to be canceled before our students have a chance to enroll, and departments have to cut back. Share this link to an online fact sheet and download a flyer for office doors and bulletin boards and graphics for social media that show the truth: #RutgersHasTheMoney.
Here are some budget facts to keep in mind:
- The administration’s unrestricted financial reserves skyrocketed during the worst years of the pandemic, reaching $886 million at the end of 2021–22, according to the most recent Rutgers annual financial report.
- The Rutgers administration predicted record deficits with their budgets for 2020–21 and 2021–22—but ended up reporting record surpluses at the end of those years.
- After our strike and contract ratification, the state legislature added an additional $25.5 million in direct funding for Rutgers to the state budget, specifically to help pay for the new agreements we won.
- Rutgers Athletics loses tens of millions of dollars, year in and year out, but never has to make cuts or is held accountable. Money that should go to our academic mission instead goes down the athletics drain.
Don’t believe anyone who tells you Rutgers is in financial trouble. It isn’t now, any more than it was going through a “financial emergency” during the worst of the pandemic.
The real purpose of the administration’s budget scare tactics is to justify raising tuition and costs on our students and demanding cuts from departments and programs. We hope you’ll look at our unions’ analysis, talk to your colleagues and friends, and post the office door/bulletin board flyer and social media graphics. Make sure everyone knows the facts: #RutgersHasTheMoney—and the administration’s austerity agenda is cruel and unnecessary.
In solidarity,
Rutgers AAUP-AFT and Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union
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/