Message from Interim President Walker

[Laura F Henry <henryla@mail.auburn.edu>]

                                           March 16, 2001
Dear Members of the Auburn Community:

    I am writing again to update you on recent developments with
respect to our budgetary situation. Regrettably, the extent of proration
and budget reductions we shall face is not yet clear.   On Wednesday,
the Alabama Supreme Court denied a request by most four-year
institutions to stay the effects of an advisory opinion issued by the
Office of the Attorney General. The governor has indicated he might rely
on that advisory opinion to justify prorating higher education at
approximately 11.8% rather than at the 6.2% which his original order
applied across the board to all of education.

    The effect of the Supreme Court's denial is to send us back to
the trial court level to pursue our objective of maintaining equal
proration of all of education. We have already filed the initial papers
to this end, but expect that whatever decision is rendered will also be
appealed. The upshot is that it may be several weeks, or longer, before
the level of proration we currently are facing becomes clear. The most
likely alternatives are 6.2% or approximately 11.8%.

    It is essential that we proceed in as orderly and open manner as
possible to develop contingency plans for the steps we take when the
level of proration becomes clear and our state budget checks are
reduced. To this end I have directed that plans be developed to address
a proration level of 11.8%. I certainly hope that the plans at this
level will not have to be implemented. During the coming weeks we shall
also develop plans to address the reduction of state funding in the
coming year's budget. Administrative units across campus have been
working out methods of providing broad-based opportunities for input
into decision-making at the local level, and I encourage all involved to
take part in this process.

    In addition to addressing proration and budget reductions we are
also in the midst of an intense discussion of university governance. In
my recent State of the University Address to the General Faculty, a copy
of which has been posted on the university web site, I shared some of my
thoughts on governance as well as further background on budgetary
matters. Inclusive university governance is a cornerstone of academic
quality, as is academic freedom, and I am strongly committed to both. I
have been working with the parties to ensure that the issues we
discussed at the Meeting of the General Faculty are addressed, and I
encourage all the parties involved to undertake frank discussions of
these matters. I am hopeful that these communications will produce some
positive results.

    In conclusion, I want to thank all of you for the steadfast
manner in which you are carrying this institution's mission forward in
these extremely trying times. As further information is available, I
shall do my best to share it with you through additional messages.

Sincerely,

William F. Walker
Interim President