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 - A Message from the President

July 26, 2004

Dear Colleagues:

Last Saturday night when the Illinois General Assembly's record overtime 
session gaveled to a close, we welcomed the fact that our state support 
for the fiscal year that began July 1 is at the same level as last year. 
A state budget that provides the same taxpayer funding for Fiscal Year 
2005 as it did for FY 04 is reason to be grateful since Illinois, like 
other states, has continuing financial stresses and strains.

The FY 05 state appropriation to the University of Illinois puts an end 
to three consecutive years of reductions and rescissions. We believe this 
demonstrates that our state universities and community colleges--which 
educate the vast majority of Illinois students--are priorities for 
legislators and the governor.

The state appropriation to the university from general revenue funds is 
about $697 million for our day-to-day operations. Along with student 
tuition, this critical money pays most of our faculty and staff salaries 
and wages; heats, cools, and lights our buildings; puts books in the 
libraries; and equips our classrooms and instructional labs. It is, in 
short, the underlying foundation for our central work of teaching and 
outreach.

The General Assembly and the governor, however, left undecided until the 
November session the state's capital, or building, program, which is 
typically paid for with long-term revenue bonds the state sells on the 
open market; we'll let you know more on that as the news unfolds. Our 
first capital priority is always repair and renovation of existing 
facilities on our three campuses, and we eagerly await good news on that 
front.

Other parts of the state budget sustained cuts--as much as 4 percent--
while higher education did not. We deeply appreciate this recognition by 
state lawmakers and the governor of how important public higher education 
is to the vitality and economic well-being of Illinois, as well as 
acknowledging the previous sacrifices our state universities have made to 
help manage the Illinois budget crisis.

By maintaining state support at a steady level and reaping the benefits 
of our 25 percent reduction in administrative costs, the University of 
Illinois can now focus on preserving the already high quality of our core 
missions of teaching, research, public service, and economic development.

I encourage you to mail or call your legislators--and the governor's 
office--to  thank them on behalf of the people of Illinois for helping to 
preserve one of the state's great assets, the University of Illinois.

I believe we have turned the corner on the budget, but these have been 
extraordinarily difficult years. For your support, patience, and 
goodwill, I give you my personal thanks.


James J. Stukel
President
uipres@uillinois.edu
This mailing approved by:
The Office of the President

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