Maroon

              THE LOYOLA MAROON VOLUME 69, NO. 12 LOYOLA UNIVERSITY, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA 70118 November 16,1990 LU hacks $1 million from budget By Charles Lussier News Editor Loyola has decided to cut a total of $1 million from the 1990-91 budget and run an additional $300,000 deficit, all to offset a $1.3 million budget shortfall. John Eckholdt, vice president for Business and Finance, said the main reason for the cuts was overoptimism in calculating expected revenues. Eckholdt cited lower-than-expected admissions and residence hall revenues as major factors in the drop in overall revenue for the university. Eckholdt said he does not expect cuts like these to happen again. "I would be extremely disappointed if it happens again next year," Eckholdt said. "I think from a positive aspect the corrective action has been put in place, and I think within a year to two we will see ourselves out of this problem," he said. "I think we will be back in a growth mode." He said the cuts are already being authorized and due to the urgency of the matter the cuts will have to be instituted within the next two weeks. The Rev. George F. Lundy, S J., senior vice president and dean of Faculties, said the cuts may manifest in a "combination of reductions in non-salary budgets and not filling some positions that come open and reductions in part-time expenditures." He said he hopes to provide the budget heads with some discretion in making the individual cuts. Lundy said he will allow the division heads the opportunity to "consult with the people they work with to Figure out the least damaging way to make cuts." John Calamia, assistant vice president of financial affairs, said Loyola's vice presidents were aware of the extent of the shortfall within the first two weeks of October. The vice presidents then identified possible cuts within their divisions and agreed to a total figure of $ 1 million. They informed the finance committee of the Board of Trustees who endorsed the measure at a Nov. g meeting, Calamia said. Eckholdt said he did not think the Board would need to vote on the matter at its meeting scheduled for yesterday. "The Board wants to see us try to end the year with a balanced budget so they would support this move," he said. Eckholdt said the present budget information is approximately 95 percent correct as to what will happen by the end of the fiscal year in July 1991. "1 think we're at a point now where I would describe it that we have probably the most accurate information that we can get on the budget right now," he said. Eckholdt said six major divisions will implement the cuts and the university will freeze its contingency fund to pay for unexpected increases. Cuts will include cutting $25,000 from the office of the President, $120,000 from Administration, $250,000 from Academic Affairs, $50,000 from Student Affairs, $100,000 from Institutional Advancement and $250,000 from the office of Business and Finance, Eckholdt said. He said the cuts will total $795,000. The contingency fund, allocated by the Rev. James C. Carter, S J., university president, for isolated unforeseen costs at his discretion, will be frozen at its present amount of $205,000. The two figures add up to the $1 million and the $300,000 will remain a deficit, Eckholdt said. He said the 1990-91 budget was originally projected to have a $126,000 surplus at the Board of Trustees meeting last May, but was eventually readjusted to the $1.3 million deficit. Eckholdt said poor economic conditions in Louisiana and nationally have also hampered revenues, especially in Institutional Advancement fundraising. Lundy said the budget process, lasting a year and a half, causes problems in projecting a completely accurate budget. "We probably need to build bigger cushions into our budgets and there's a few areas of budget where we need to have better spending controls and we're working on all these problems," Lundy said. Eckholdt said preliminary projections for the 1991-92 budget show the student body will probably maintain its present enrollment level. Photo by Charles Baker Playing with blocks — Walter Hart sands a 450 lb. marble block in the Activities Quad Wednesday as boss Rock Peterson looks on. The block will be part of a monument to commemorate the murder of six Jesuits last year. SGA talks of possible student rep with Trustees By Angela Pulido Staff writer At press time Wednesday, SGA President David Vandersand, with the support of Congress, was to introduce a motion for a student observer seat on the Board of Trustees to its Student Affairs Committee yesterday. "It's been a long-time goal [of SGA] to have a student seat on the Board of Trustees," Vandersand, management and marketing senior, said. Vandersand said he is introducing the motion now to initiate discussion on the subject. "I will submit the final proposal in January," he said. "I want to make the Trustees aware of our ideas first, and get some feedback from them before I finalize the proposal." The SGA proposes that the Board permit the student observer to attend Trustee meetings. The selection process will consist of a thorough character check of the candidate, Vandersand said. 'The SGA is to nominate annually three Loyola students to the Student Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees in preparation for the March meeting of the full Board," according to the proposal. Undergraduate students nominated must have completed three semesters at Loyola at the time of their nomination. Law students and graduate students only need to completed one semester, Vandersand said. The Student Affairs Committee will then make its recommendation from this group of three. If none are acceptable to the committee, it will then request three more nominees from the SGA, according to the proposal. The final selection will reveal the character and integrity of the individual chosen, Vandersand said. "I would like to think the education received here at Loyola would prepare upperclassmen to deal with their responsibilities in an ethical and reflective manner," Vandersand said. "If not, lhat says something about the education system at Loyola," he said. "The exact wording hasn't been worked out yet. The proposal is subject to change," he said. The proposal stipulates lhat the individual chosen can serve no more than See Board/page 5 v, icczaßi The Maroon will not publish an issue next week because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Publication will resume Nov. 30.