Pres Albrecht

President Albrecht
USU President Stan Albrecht addressed the issues of the mandatory budget cut at a press conference Wednesday to students and faculty on the campus of USU.
USU is simply not insulated from the unprecedented world marketing conditions, said Albrecht. A $6.5 million budget cut is the current situation that USU is facing; however, a plan has been instigated by Albrecht to find the money that is needed to make up the $6.5 million.
According to Albrecht, a 5.5 percent cut from each department will help make up the money that is needed. Each department of USU has until Nov 1, 2008 to turn in their budget cuts.
A six- member team has also been assembled consisting of Deans, Provosts and other faculty from USU to take on the challenge at hand.
Even with the gloom of budgets cuts, Albrecht expressed optimism when asked if student tuition costs will rise for USU students in the future. “Tuition prices will not be affected by the budget cuts,” said Albrecht.
“Now is the time to come to USU,” said Albrecht. Out of 30 schools in the west, USU is ranked 29th in tuition costs said Albrecht. “If you want a great education for a modest price, USU is the place to come,” said Albrecht.
Students and faculty of USU are concerned about where the $6.5 million is going to come from. As of now, Albrecht has not seen any proposals from any of the departments of USU. Albrecht and his six-member team are accepting any proposals from students and the public with open arms.
One of the suggestions that has been mentioned, is to cut the football program, said Albrecht. It’s simply not that easy to just cut the football program,” said Albrecht. According to Albrecht, the football team is looked at as a program that has a lot of potential to bring in money for the school in the future.
Albrecht reiterated many times during the press conference, that student’s lives would not be affected by the budget cuts. “Other than faculty complaining about the cuts, students lives will remain the same,” said Albrecht.
Some of the ongoing projects at USU will need to be put on hold, said Albrecht. Examples are; finding a new Dean for the International Program and the globalization efforts from students and faculty at USU. Sports teams and clubs should not be affected by the budget cuts, said Albrecht.