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President Haeger speaks to a packed room at the High Country Conference Center Monday about Tuition proposals and the financial situation of NAU. The presentation was also streamed online via webcast. - Matt Beaty/ The Lumberjack

In the presentation, “The Economy and the University,” President John D. Haeger discussed possible effects Arizona’s economic situation will have upon NAU in the next two fiscal years.

The presentation was given in the Humphreys Room of the High Country Conference Center on Monday, Dec. 1.

During this presentation, Haeger said approximately 40 percent of NAU students in the Pledge program can expect to see no increase in tuition, but the remaining students should expect a 6.5 percent increase in tuition. All students will see a 3 percent increase in fees.

These expected tuition changes will be part of an attempt to balance an expected shortfall of $1.2 billion in Arizona’s budget for fiscal 2009.

The expected shortfall for fiscal 2010 ranges from $2.2 to $3 billion.

“We not only live in interesting times, but we don’t know what to expect for tomorrow,” Haeger said.

The president said many prescient circumstances require economic entities — including NAU — to make significant innovations and changes in order to remain economically viable.

“This is a fundamental paradigm shift for higher education,” Haeger said.

Haeger proposed some changes in some of the more traditional views held about and by most universities. These included not only the modernization of certain elements of teaching, such as transitioning to a paper-free campus, but also a shift in the view of the university experience itself.

On a more local level, Haeger said the departure of Napolitano and a number of shifts in the state legislature placed several sources’ educational support in a precarious position.

However, Haeger stressed the uncertainty of these changes throughout his presentation.

Kathy Benson, an NAU employee, described the information as “somber” but not unexpected.

“Everyone everywhere is so uncertain about everything,” Benson said.

Haeger said it was critical to maintain budget flexibility and to minimize the effects on current faculty and staff.

The education budget for fiscal 2009 can be divided between protected and unprotected funds: the protected funds constitute 45 percent (roughly $4.5 billion) of the total; the unprotected funds constitute 55 percent (roughly $5.5 billion).

Funding for K-12 education is protected, but the university budgets are not.

One aspect of the university’s budget that was not discussed in the presentation was Haeger’s salary.

A national survey conducted by the Chronicle of Higher Education revealed on Nov. 17 that Haeger, who was up for a contract renewal in 2007, received a salary increase of 14 percent in the 2007-2008 year.

Including salary, car and house allowances, deferred compensation and retirement contributions, Haeger earns $424,408 according to NAU officials, or $421,918 according to the Chronicle. This places him as the 96th highest paid public university president.

Robert Bulla, a member of the Arizona Board of Regents, said one reason for this increase in Haeger’s salary — which coincided with an increase in the salaries of the presidents of ASU and U of A — was to ensure that NAU would be competitive in the marketplace if Haeger were to leave.

“When you got to go out and search (for a new president) and you haven’t been paying a rate appropriate for the marketplace, that’s a very difficult position,” Bulla said.

Other officials said the work Haeger puts into the job and the responsibilities he hold justify his high salary.

“His duties and responsibilities are akin to the chief executive officer (CEO) of a large company,” said Public Affairs Director Lisa Nelson. “He makes decisions that affect 22,000 students and 3,700 employees and tens of thousands of constituents.”

Not all students share the sentiment of these administrative officials, though.

“I think it is something to be cautious of,” said freshman cellular and molecular biology major Matt Creamer. “It reminds me of the gas price hikes by the CEOs of the oil companies when they make record profits.”

One fear of faculty, staff and students in regard to the budget cuts is the potential marginalization, or even elimination, of the smaller programs on campus.

“I think that, individually, there is a possibility of marginalizing these (smaller) programs,” said Sara Aleman, director of the ethnic studies department. “There is a possibility that these programs will get lost.”

This concern was raised at Haeger’s presentation by an employee from the college of Social and Behavioral Sciences who asked whether faculty and staff would be involved in, or merely informed of, the effects the budget cuts will have on their programs.

“The decision has to be brought to me by the dean, who has presumably consulted with faculty members and staff…there will be input at many levels,” Provost Liz Grobsmith said.

Another audience member asked Haeger how the current recession differed from the recession Arizona faced in 2002.

“What is so different about today…is that nobody really knows what is going on,” Haeger said.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 4th, 2008 at 4:00 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.