Because the College is among the schools most dependent on state funding, Ed Ayers, the dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, fielded the majority of the questions for this first column. Following columns will respond to questions directed to other deans and administrators from across Grounds.

Q. The University recently completed a hugely successful billion-dollar capital campaign. Why can’t we use some of that money for employee raises and critical programmatic needs?

A. Most of the campaign funds — 97 percent —were designated for specific endowments (such as scholarships and fellowships) and building projects and cannot be used for other purposes. Nearly a fifth of the total is made up of bequests or planned gifts that the University will not receive right away — in many cases not for decades. Another 15 percent came in the form of multi-year pledges that will be paid off over several years. Just over 10 percent of the total came in the form of unrestricted annual gifts to schools and programs. These funds are used as operating support and were spent in the year they were received. Many gifts were given to do new things — hire a new faculty member, start a new academic program — to enhance but not replace state funding.

Q. What is the magnitude of the budget cuts in the College of Arts & Sciences?

A. For the 2001-2002 year, Arts & Sciences will have to return between 0.89 percent and 1.38 percent of our state budget, or approximately $620,000 to $960,000 of a total $70 million that Arts & Sciences was allocated by the state. For 2002-2003, we are told to expect cuts of between 2.85 percent and 3.34 percent relative to our 2001-2002 base budget, or roughly $2 million to $2.3 million. We do not yet know what will happen in 2003-2004, but believe it is likely we will have to absorb an additional 1 percent cut, or approximately $700,000.

Q. What’s getting cut in the College?

A. This fiscal year, we have halted most faculty searches, curtailed travel and cut operating budgets by 5 percent. For 2002-2003, we have had to extend the moratorium on state-funded faculty travel. We have instituted an across-the-board 15-percent reduction in unit OTPS (or non-personnel) budgets. We have reduced the budgets used to pay graduate teaching assistants in most departments and made an effort to replace the money with increased fellowship funds. We will be limiting the allocation of temporary faculty replacements. These measures, when combined with the funds saved from anticipated faculty retirements and resignations, will achieve roughly 50 percent of the savings required for 2002-2003. We have also halted almost all faculty searches.

Q. How is the College’s state allocation spent?

A. Our state budget allocation is about $70 million this year. Of that, approximately 85 percent pays for faculty and staff salaries, 10 percent pays for graduate instructors and student wages, and the remaining 5 percent is for non-personnel operating expenses (e.g., office supplies, faculty travel, etc.).

Q. Will the budget cuts affect construction projects such as the Arts Grounds and South Lawn?

A. We do not believe so at this time. Elements of both projects are included in the proposed bond act, which if passed would provide significant state money to help support the construction of desperately needed new teaching and research facilities in the College.

Q. Why push ahead on building projects when we can’t fund salary increases?

A. These two priorities are not at odds with one another because they are funded differently. The money that may be available for construction could not be used for salaries. The Board of Visitors last summer committed to fund half of the $125 million cost of the South Lawn Project through state and University sources. Arts & Sciences must raise the other half from private sources. The state-funded portion of the construction project money would come from a voter-approved general obligation bond, which would allow the state to borrow money secured by tax revenue. The state does not issue bonds for general operating expenses and personnel costs (including raises).

Send questions to Inside UVA at insideuva@ virginia. edu. The answers also will appear online at UVA Top News Daily at www.virginia.edu/topnews