Roughly six months after the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill set a goal of cutting $70 million from its budget, trustees on Wednesday advanced an unexpected resolution directing leaders to cut an additional $16.5 million from administrative spending.
The resolution, introduced by trustee Marty Kotis, cited “material uncertainty” in the university’s revenue as a result of the General Assembly’s delay in approving a full state budget. But some members raised complaints about the process as the Board of Trustees’ Budget, Finance, and Infrastructure Committee instructed the university to “identify and specify plans” for the cuts by June 30.
The savings target is 5% of the university’s base spending on administrative salaries, the resolution notes, and the cuts would build on “more than six months of active savings planning” that began last summer.
Kotis provided the resolution to his fellow board members late enough that it was not in the public materials released before the meeting. Nate Knuffman, the university’s chief finance officer, said he didn’t have the text of the draft resolution when it was introduced as he was presenting a budget and finance update.
Trustee Jim Blaine said he received it at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Ralph Meekins said he only saw it 30 minutes prior to discussing it at the meeting that afternoon. Meekins, who has previously said he does not feel comfortable voting on resolutions given to the board on the day they are considered, voted against the resolution in the committee. The other members voted to advance it to the full board.
The university was already aiming to save $8.5 million in administrative costs through its ServiceFirst initiative, a plan announced last spring to restructure operations including finance, human resources, and information technology. The effort aims to implement a “shared services” model that would centralize those functions instead of housing specialized staff with similar roles in departments or schools across campus.
Those savings were part of the $70 million that the university initially announced it would cut over the next two fiscal years, an effort that also includes measures like reducing out-of-state financial aid and eliminating vacant positions. Chancellor Lee Roberts and Knuffman cited federal and state budget pressures in announcing the cuts last summer.
The resolution would up that total to more than $85 million by increasing the target for administrative cuts to $25 million, with ServiceFirst as the “primary operational vehicle.” The document also “encourages the administration to identify areas where progress beyond attrition may be necessary.” It also identifies centers and institutes—which UNC-CH already targeted for cuts—as an area to consider.
Meekins objected to the resolution’s inclusion of centers and institutes, saying he didn’t think it was the board’s place to direct the chancellor and his team on where to find the cuts.
“To be clear … it’s our job to be the fiduciaries,” Kotis responded. “And we have to make the tough decisions.”
Student Body President Adolfo Alvarez, who serves as a trustee while in office, echoed Meekins’ complaints, saying he has heard from faculty objecting to the lack of input into decisions about the centers and institutes. Their main concern, he said, is that “perhaps we are not relying on shared governance” when making cuts to academic units.
The full board will consider the resolution at its meeting Thursday.