Ever since the financial meltdown started last fall, I've been wondering just how hard the University of Connecticut would be hit. Well, a little of the uncertainty is now lifted. The news is not good, but it's not nearly as bad as I feared it might be.
Governor Rell presented her budget plan to the state legislature yesterday. It includes
Maybe she's been reading UConnomy.
Governor Rell presented her budget plan to the state legislature yesterday. It includes
- Layoffs for 400 current state employees and $275 million in wage & benefit concessions from state unions.1
- A one-year freeze on new construction at UConn and other state-supported universities.
- A 5% cut in state support for higher education.
Maybe she's been reading UConnomy.
If you don't want to read the whole UConnomy report. Here are a few key facts from the summary on President Hogan's blog:
1That's 400 cuts and $275 million in wage concessions across all of state government, not just at the University. UConn is sure to share in both, but the numbers will be substantially smaller. In an $18.8 billion budget, state support for UConn is only about $350 million, not including the Health Center.
2Seasonally adjusted.
Stanley McMillen, the chief economist at the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, found that for every state dollar allocated to UConn, including the Health Center, $5.05 is added to the state's Gross Domestic Product. In his 9-month study just concluded, he also found that ongoing operations at the University of Connecticut and its Health Center added $2.3 billion to Connecticut's gross domestic product in fiscal 2008, and that Connecticut businesses experienced $3.2 billion in new sales as a result of ongoing operations at the UConn campuses.
1That's 400 cuts and $275 million in wage concessions across all of state government, not just at the University. UConn is sure to share in both, but the numbers will be substantially smaller. In an $18.8 billion budget, state support for UConn is only about $350 million, not including the Health Center.
2Seasonally adjusted.
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