Emory Report
April 14, 2008
Volume 60, Number 27


Highlights and impacts

STUDENTS
• Emory Advantage Program
• New resources to connect community volunteerism with academic pursuits
• Three new residence halls on main campus and at Oxford
• Groundbreaking for new main campus bookstore facility, enhanced recruitment space for undergraduate admissions

SCHOLARSHIP
• Library launch of the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Program as part of digital innovations

FACULTY AND STAFF
• Center for Faculty Development and Excellence
• Merit salary
pool of 3.75 percent
• Work-Life Resource Center
• Faculty Distinction Fund and Equipment Fund
• Excellence Through Leadership program

RESEARCH
• Alignment of research infrastructure with required faculty support and compliance regulations (second year of four-year plan)

 

    
Emory Report homepage  

April 14, 2008
Budget to grow 5.1%

By NANCY SEIDEMAN

“Putting People First” could be the theme of the University budget for next year.

The University’s Unrestricted Operation Budget (UOB) will grow 5.1 percent in fiscal year 2009 to a total of more than $679 million that will support increased investments in faculty, staff and student resources.

Specifics include provisions for a 3.75 percent merit salary pool, significant commitment to faculty development and student leadership development, and establishment of a Work-Life Resource Center.

The Board of Trustees approved the UOB at its April meeting. When combined with other University resources and with Emory Healthcare’s budget, total operations will be an estimated $3 billion in the new fiscal year, which begins Sept. 1.

And for the second time in recent years, Emory has experienced growth in endowment payouts, resulting in an additional $3.3 million available to support next year’s UOB.

While acknowledging the positive factors associated with Emory’s current financial status, signs of a prolonged national economic downturn made University leadership determined to “place people at the top of our list of priorities,” said Provost Earl Lewis, who chairs the Ways and Means Committee that develops the annual UOB.

In addition to Lewis, the committee includes Mike Mandl, executive vice president for finance and administration, and Fred Sanfilippo, executive vice president for health affairs and CEO, Woodruff Health Sciences Center.

“Emory cannot fulfill its high aspirations without recruiting, retaining and developing outstanding faculty, staff, students, researchers, health care providers. The new budget continues our investment in the people who are Emory,” said Lewis.

“If a recession presents us with hard choices, we have built in the flexibility to delay or defer projects, and to reassess unit and University priorities, but bottom line is our commitment to maintaining resources for our community members.”