3rd Message from Interim President - Urgent

[Gopher administrator <gophrad@mail.auburn.edu>]

Dear Members of the Auburn University Community:

I am writing to update what we know and to summarize our current
thinking about planning and executing a course of action. The three
branches of government in Alabama are all actively involved with the
issue of proration. There is much uncertainty, but here is what we think
may happen.

A judicial order scheduled to take effect at 5 p.m. today has been
stayed by the Alabama Supreme Court. Its effect would have been to
increase to 18.5% the proration imposed on higher education budgets for
the current year.  Instead, we currently face proration of 6.2%.  Our
first order of business in the short term will be to protect Auburn's
students, staff, faculty, and academic programs from immediate damage
such as class closings, furlough of personnel, or reductions in pay. The
next order of business will be to work out how we best can proceed
through the remainder of this academic year with minimum damage of the
sorts just described.

The greater impacts, and the harder choices, will unfold during the
coming year. In addressing those choices it is my intention to engage
Auburn's constituencies, including faculty, students, and staff. To this
end I have asked John Pritchett to work with the Senate leadership to
develop a workable approach. 

It is also essential that we continue to keep Auburn's internal and
external constituents as well informed as we can. To this end I shall
continue to send out these e-mail messages and have them posted to our
website. I am working with the presidents of Alabama's other four-year
institutions to develop a shared position and options for action. A
press conference that I held this past Wednesday appears to have been
effective in alerting folks out there that we really are facing a
serious problem. On Tuesday, March 6, Auburn people, especially
students, will take part in a Higher Education Day rally in Montgomery.
This rally has been organized by Gordon Stone and the Higher Education
Partnership, and will involve intensive lobbying of the legislature.

Earlier this afternoon my office sent you an e-mail from our
legislative liaison requesting that you contact the governor and your
legislators in Montgomery.  I encourage you to proceed with these
contacts, because it is evident that these messages are effective in
proportion to their numbers.

You are respectfully urged to become involved in this important set of
issues by conveying your concerns, your questions, and your ideas to
your elected representatives. A broad based discussion of these matters
is one of the best ways I know to generate ideas and action that can
help us to address the challenges we face. Thank you again for your
support for Auburn University.

William F. Walker
Interim President