Be Second Opinion Sure
Linda Rouillard
UT-AAUP Vice-President
On Friday, January 9, 2015 the UT-AAUP and the BOT completed three days of mediation. So far we have discussed workload for both units, definite progress since the BOT had previously refused to consider workload at all.
During these meetings, we also listened to a presentation on UT finances given by Mr. Dave Morlock, accompanied by Mr. Tom Biggs. Dr. Rudy Fichtenbaum, President of the AAUP and Dr. Howard Bunsis, Chair of the AAUP-CBC (Collective Bargaining Congress), traveled to UT to listen to the presentation with us; however, the BOT's team refused to allow them to attend the presentation.
Mr. Morlock's presentation consisted of a budget comparison of FY 2011 through FY 2015, along with a five-year projection. We find it odd that past budget projections were presented in mediation talks which will address faculty compensation, while actual audited financials were not referenced.
Budgets are merely plans for the future. Actual financials tell us what occurred with our money and as such are much better indicators of potential trends. It is more important to know what happened to UT's money than to hear about the Administrative's hopes and dreams, or their nightmare scenarios.
Mr. Morlock's five-year budget comparison highlighted a total five-year decline in enrollment of 12%, a 13% decrease in SSI, a 16% decline in Sales and Service Revenue, along with rising healthcare/benefits costs, for a total five-year income reduction of $60 million, accompanied by a $943,000 increase in expenditures.
On the other hand, in their fact-based second opinion evaluating the audited financials of UT, Dr. Fichtenbaum and Dr. Bunsis have given us a very different assessment of the state of UT's financial health:
In 2014, UT produced a bottom line positive cash flow of $30 million.
In 2013, UT produced a bottom line positive cash flow of $50 million.
The audited financials show the following increases in net position for the past five years:
| 2014 | $24 million |
| 2013 | $9 million |
| 2012 | $5 million |
| 2011 | $67.8 million |
| 2010 | $44 million |
Our Ohio Senate Bill 6 ratios, a rating that evaluates levels of assets, debt, reserves, revenues, and expenses, has climbed to a healthy 3.80, putting us very close to that of Ohio State at 3.90.
UTMC has recently rebranded itself as University Health. Billboards invite potential patients to “be second opinion sure,” which is definitely good advice. We took that advice and received the following diagnosis:UT finances are healthy!
12 comments:
Saw a line in the proposed budget that they would save money through "(mostly) vacant positions..." So, who is going to lose their job now?
BOT selected a person already.
Who did they select?
not Nagy apparently
TEN-HUT!
Could we start a separate thread about the hiring of a new president?
The three "finalists" have been announced and Nagy isn't one of them. Other than that, I can't offer any insights regarding any of them. I didn't follow the process and haven't talked to anyone who was on the committee. My only interest in the search is that I'm hoping it will goose the BOT into negotiating a new contract as I'd guess the BOT doesn't want the new president to immediately have to jump into contract negotiations.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113245025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dxxtDIO1L8
A SERIOUS NOTE OF THANKS:
The recent computer hacking attack against Sony Pictures in retaliation for the satirical Seth Rogin and James Franco film “The Interview” – and the more recent horrific murder of journalists and cartoonists at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo – compelled an NPR news commentator to remark on January 7, 2015 that “Satire and freedom of speech are under attack.”
In light of all this we felt compelled and obligated to return here with some of our trademark humor – even if only once more – and we would once again like to extend our sincere thanks to Bloggie and the ASC Blog for allowing us, JdS, to post here our satirical lampoons and serious criticisms of, among other things, academia and K-PhD education.
PayPal founder and billionaire Peter Thiel has remarked that:
“Education may be the only thing people still believe in in the United States. To question education is really dangerous. It is the absolute taboo. It’s like telling the world there’s no Santa Claus…
…The university system in 2014, it’s like the Catholic Church circa 1514. There’s less diversity, so you have the Dominicans and Franciscans and all these different orders, whereas the diversity between say the Harvard and Stanford political science department is considerably less. But it is sort you have this priestly class of professors that doesn’t do very much work, people are buying indulgences in the form of amassing enormous debt for the sort of the secular salvation that a diploma represents.”
For daring to challenge and criticize the education establishment and the liberal PC status quo, JdS has endured many setbacks and a lot of abuse from a lot of people over the years.
But even on our worst day, JdS has never suffered the danger, violence, injury and even death suffered by many other brave artists, journalists, writers, satirists, cartoonists, filmmakers, etc. – to say nothing of first-responder medical, law enforcement and military personnel who brave such dangers daily – and who must often put their personal lives, love and happiness in jeopardy.
How easily we take our civil liberties and good fortune for granted and forget the fragile nature of free democratic society – and fail to acknowledge the strength and perpetual vigilance necessary to protect and defend these gifts and virtues and ideals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QArc2c_umzc
Not with a bang, but a whimper?
We, JdS, offer our own humble past and present creative, critical and satirical efforts in honor of all such brave and heroic people.
REFERENCES:
Below is an excellent 1/9/2015 NYT piece “I am NOT Charlie Hebdo” – by NYT columnist David Brooks, commenting on the continuing PC tyranny on American college campuses:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/09/opinion/david-brooks-i-am-not-charlie-hebdo.html?_r=0
“Peter Thiel: We're in a Bubble and It's Not the Internet. It's Higher Education” Tech Crunch 4/10/2011
http://techcrunch.com/2011/04/10/peter-thiel-were-in-a-bubble-and-its-not-the-internet-its-higher-education/
Peter Thiel “Competition is for Losers” Wall Street Journal 9/12/2014
http://online.wsj.com/articles/peter-thiel-competition-is-for-losers-1410535536
More fabulous publicity for our cutting-edge medical training and UTMC:
http://www.toledoblade.com/Medical/2015/01/28/Animal-rights-physicians-group-blasts-UTMC.html
Our next transformational president?
Http://www.facebook.cm/EndHowardsTerm
Check out the following website:
https://www.facebook.com/EndHowardsTerm and go to the April 16, 2014 entry. Here's Howard's attitude towards faculty:
"President Howard has defended the lack of raises for faculty during his presidency as not a problem because faculty at lower ranks are still receiving pay increases when promoted to associate or full professor. So, Professor Thornton did two simulations. The first shows what would happen to the salary of a new H-SC professor hired at the age of 34 (average age for a new Ph.D.) for the 2014-15 academic year, who works at H-SC until the age of 65. The professor is hired at a starting salary of $50,000/year and during this 32 year career the professor receives standard promotion pay increases, plus one 2% pay increase, every 3 years, which has been the pattern under President Howard. Adjusted for inflation, at the end of his/her 32 career this professor ends up earning 21% LESS than he/she did when first hired!
Adjusted for inflation, a staff person who is hired at $50,000 and receives only one 2% pay increase every three years (and no promotion pay increases) ends up earning 34% less at the end of a 32 career at H-SC than when he/she was first hired.
Because very few well-qualified faculty or staff will stay at a college with this type of pay scale, H-SC will end up with a low-paid, less-qualified, transient work force. Maybe this is the "game change" that Chairman Allen and President Howard are seeking?"
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