PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 21, No. 6, Sept. 20, 2001

Board gets 2003 budget, told terrorist attack could impact request

By Sabryna Cornish
UIC News Bureau

The economic effects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks could affect next year’s UI budget, administrators said before presenting a preliminary budget to trustees last week.

"The impact of the last 48 hours introduces an element of uncertainty about the economy," Stephen Rugg, associate vice president for planning and budgeting, said at the UI Board of Trustees meeting in Chicago Sept. 13.

The total university budget request for FY 2003 totals $2.88 billion, compared with last year’s $2.5 billion.

Salary increases and new buildings are the priorities for the budget.

If requested salary increases are fully funded for the university’s fiscal year 2003, they would equal a 5 percent across-the-board increase. Usually, the increase hovers around the 3 percent mark.

The university’s second priority lies with the buildings that house the employees.

"Creation of state-of-the-art facilities is a close second for our budgeting priorities," Rugg said. The university is asking for about $847 million more to add to its $1 billion operating budget – a 7.87 percent increase – including:

• $41.8 million for salary and benefit improvements and general price increases
  
  
• $102 million for an Illinois Board of Higher Education plan that stresses faculty recruitment and retention and renovation of facilities
  
  
• $106 million for "strengthening the academic base," including faculty recruitment, student retention, instructional technology and course improvements
  
  
• $220 million for universitywide academic program initiatives, including a deferred maintenance fund and UI-Integrate, which will streamline business operations on campus.
  
  The capital budget includes funding for projects under construction and projects still in the planning phases. The university has identified 10 priority projects for its capital budget request:
  
  
• UIC - about $28 million for repair and renovation of buildings; $5.5 million for planning of a new College of Business Administration building; $5.7 million for property acquisition; $8.6 million for elevator repairs.
  
  The university will seek another $25 million for the College of Medicine building as part of the state’s ongoing commitment to the project.
  
  "This will be another high priority," said Craig Bazzani, vice president for administration and comptroller.
  
  
• Urbana-Champaign - $5.3 million for general repairs and renovations; $46 million to the Lincoln Hall remodeling project, $4 million toward the planning of a College of Business Administration facility; $2.3 million for property acquisition; $22 million for Freer Hall remodeling; $11.9 million toward the remodeling of Burrill Hall.
  
  About $15 million would go to the Springfield campus, along with $330,000 toward repair and renovation of existing buildings.
  
  Three other large projects were approved by the board.
  
  The board will try to secure additional funding to construct a $55 million biomedical genomics laboratory at UIC with $13.5 million this year for planning and land acquisition.
  
  The Urbana campus is asking for $175 million for agriculture and biotechnology initiatives. About $60 million will go toward the construction of a food and nutrition institute, with $6 million for planning.
  
  The board earmarked more than $115 million for improvements to Urbana’s South Farm, including new complexes for beef, sheep and swine. The Illinois Board of Higher Education will make its recommendations to Gov. George Ryan, who will submit his budget to the Legislature in the spring. "There are multiple missions here and lots of activity," Bazzani said.