At a forum today, students can suggest how the University administration might solve its financial woes.
The Graduate and Professional Student Association and the Historical Graduate Student Association will host a UNM economic strategy session today in SUB ballrooms A and B at noon.
HGSA vice president Becky Ellis said the meeting will provide students, faculty and staff an opportunity to discuss problems and devise solutions that should be addressed during President David Schmidly's economic forum Friday.
UNM administrators were not invited to today's meeting, she said.
"We're being told that we're in a financial crisis, and we need to all be aware of what that means and how it affects us," said Loyola Chastain, Staff Council president. "Everybody needs to know."
Chastain said she has never seen so many students question the administration's spending habits.
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"I've been here for 16 years, and this is the first time that I'm aware of that it has really come to the students' attention," she said. "I don't know if we've had reason to question this before, but maybe it is time for us to all question the expenditures and make sure that the students' money and the taxpayer money is being spent in the best way to benefit all the students."
Howard Snell, Faculty Senate president, said the most pressing problem facing UNM is that the shortage of state funds will affect the school's budget for the next academic year.
The long-term problem is that state revenues might be low for several years, which means UNM will have to look for solutions for long-term budgetary reduction, Snell said.
"For a single year like 2008-09, you can use surplus funds," he said. "You can use some . central reserves for your short-term problem, but . your long-term problems have to be solved by reducing total cost."
Chastain said she will go to the student strategy session and relay the concerns of the students to the facilitators of Friday's forum.
"I'm supposed to be attending a meeting on Tuesday with the other constituent presidents, as well as the faculty government committee . where we are supposed to set the agenda for the town hall and how it will be presented," she said.
Snell said it is in the best interest of students and faculty to highlight their concerns and narrow their proposals before they go to the forum.
"If you try to bring 1,000 people together to solve a problem, you may get so many different ideas that it may be difficult to select the best ones," he said.
Ellis said she hopes the strategy session will spark a dialogue within student and faculty departments.
She said students should form committees that address their concerns over the University's economic problems and financial expenditures.
"Perhaps in uniting our voices, we will be listened to," Ellis said.
UNM spokeswoman Susan McKinsey said Schmidly will be glad to hear suggestions from students and employees but that he may not be able to act on all of their proposals.
"President Schmidly is anxious to listen to student concerns and has made clear that protecting the educational mission of the University, keeping tuition as low as possible, and preserving the current workforce are UNM's primary goals as it prepares for anticipated economic challenges," she said in an e-mail. "But as the president and the regents have indicated, nothing definite can be addressed until the Legislature acts during the upcoming session to give higher education a course of action."
