Editor,
In 2009, according to the University’s audited financial statements, UNM had more than $753 million in liquid assets, including almost $178 million in cash.
Additionally, UNM had reserves, represented by cash, of almost half a billion dollars ($484,528,511). I know this not because the University makes these statements widely available, but through the AAUP Collective Bargaining Congress chair.
For several months, we have been hearing about dwindling state funding and the resultant cuts that the administration has been forced to make. What we haven’t heard about is these large reserves, or the increases in tuition revenue, as a result of tuition rate and enrollment increases. Both have largely negated the decreases in state funding.
The Daily Lobo reported that the University recommended to the Board of Regents further cuts next year totaling more than $12 million, including nearly $900,000 to instructional budgets.
Furthermore, a “significant rise in tuition” is almost inevitable, Faculty Senate President Richard Wood said. Regent Jamie Koch was quoted as saying, “I have no problem raising tuition if we’ve done everything to lower our costs.”
This narrative that the administration has done everything it can to lower costs and that cuts must now be made is commonplace and utterly false.
Among the University’s other recommendations to the regents: a meager $300,000 cut to Athletics. And UNM still has more than 20 vice presidents, many, if not all, taking home large six-figure salaries.
And what of those massive cash reserves? Cutting another $900,000 from instructional budgets would be devastating, leading to layoffs, furloughs and pay cuts. But that $900,000 represents just 0.11 percent of the $753 million in liquid assets.
The administration’s predictable response is that using up these reserves will hurt UNM’s bond rating. I’m no economist, but how much damage can that 0.1 percent really cause?
Provost Suzanne Ortega recommended cutting $6,000 in instruction and general support from the Office of International Programs and Studies each of the next two years, replacing that money by increasing student fees. These are major cuts to a valuable program that will be imposed on students, yet insignificant in light of UNM’s reserves.
By all means, UNM should strive to be more efficient, but making unnecessary cuts to the University’s academic mission, especially ahead of cuts to luxuries like Athletics and vice presidents’ salaries, is inexcusable.
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As E. J. Dionne recently said in the Washington Post, and Michael Moore said from the steps of the Wisconsin state capital, “America is not broke.”
UNM is not broke, either.
Euan Mitchell
UNM student
