To: All Faculty & All Academic Professionals & All Civil Service Staff
           <everybody@illinois.edu> 
    From: "uipres@uillinois.edu" <uipres@uillinois.edu>

Reply-To: uipres@uillinois.edu
 Subject: MASSMAIL - Presmail

Dear Colleague:

	The close of the academic year signals the moment to thank you 
again for all your hard work in our classrooms and offices; for your 
ingenuity and creativity in labs, studios, and library carrels; and for 
whatever you did to advance the fine reputation of a great university.
	The University of Illinois, whose three campuses span an 
astonishing array of disciplines--agriculture to zoology, medicine to 
dance, engineering to business, languages to law--is fortunate to be 
grounded in generations of support from Illinois taxpayers, loyal alumni, 
and generous friends. We can call on a deep reservoir of respect and 
admiration. 
	But the realities of 2001-02 are harsh. A nation already in 
recession was staggered by the events of last September 11, and the 
economy spiraled downward further and faster than many had predicted. The 
state of Illinois, like most of the Midwest, is slow going into recession 
and slower coming out. 
	The state legislature, which is scheduled to wrap up its work at 
the end of this month, is still grappling with a $1.2 billion projected 
deficit. Competing proposals for budget cuts, tax increases, borrowing, 
etc., have surfaced. Virtually every proposed solution has significant 
downsides for the University of Illinois, which receives about 30 percent 
of its annual operating funds from state government. And fully 80 percent 
of those precious state dollars are used for salaries and wages. Our state 
appropriation is the bedrock of what we do: it supports our teaching, our 
libraries, our physical plant. It lets us turn the lights on in the 
morning, put professors in front of students in classrooms and labs, and 
clean the buildings at night. It includes a modest subsidy for our Chicago 
hospital and such public services as Extension. It is our 
basic "household" budget and is heavily committed year after year.
	This is not the time to detail the FY02 cuts--we've already lost 
$34 million--or to outline the various FY03 scenarios. Chancellors Sylvia 
Manning, Richard Ringeisen, and Nancy Cantor and I will continue to keep 
you informed as the state budget is approved and we calculate the full 
impact on the university and decide what we can do that will have the 
least deleterious effect on our core missions. Some months ago, as the 
magnitude of the Illinois budget problem became evident, we talked with 
our Board of Trustees about principles that would guide our budget-
reduction decisions. They include protecting the interests of our students 
and patients and making quality the most important factor.
	For now, I want you to know how grateful we are for your past 
year's service--whether you are a distinguished senior professor, a set 
designer, or a nurse or are ordering books in the library or trimming the 
hedges. I hope you will be patient in a trying time. While the net loss to 
our budget could approach historic levels, we know this university has 
overcome hard times before. We are resilient and will work our way back. 
In the meantime, I ask for your goodwill and cooperation. 
	On the brighter side, Joan and I wish you a good summer whether 
you are on or off campus. 

James J. Stukel
President
This mailing approved by:
The Office of the President

-- 
This message sent via MASSMAIL.  < http://www.cites.illinois.edu/services/massmail/ >