College President Jim Yong Kim has continually emphasized the importance of maintaining the College's academic mission as he seeks to reduce inefficiency in College operations and cut $100 million from the budget for fiscal years 2011 and 2012. As Kim released the details of the budget reconciliation plan Monday, it became clear that his vision was one that intended to preserve the College's standards of academic excellence no faculty members will lose their jobs, he said, and no academic programs will be downsized or eliminated.
Kim framed the immediate non-academic cuts the College will make as a way to enhance Dartmouth's competitive advantage due to its increased efficiency and to allow the institution to retain its scholarly focus.
"What we want to do is get to the point where instead of having to think year after year about more layoffs, more cuts, we want to get this done so we can turn our attention to the academic mission," Kim said. "And we feel that what we've done here will allow us to do just that."
The first round of layoffs, beginning Tuesday, precedes a comparably-sized round of layoffs scheduled for April, Kim said. In all, the budget plan will likely eliminate about 80 positions from the College's non-academic staff.
While Kim stated for several weeks prior to the announcement that layoffs would occur, his statements Monday sought to emphasize measures taken to avoid such actions. "Involuntary layoffs" were included in the proposal only after covering 95 percent of the budget gap, Kim said, which he and his advisors accomplished by reducing staff hours, eliminating unfilled positions, freezing salaries and offering voluntary retirement opportunities. Despite the effort to minimize layoffs, this year's staff reduction could exceed the staff cuts imposed last year by as many as 20 positions.
The final layoff count was far lower than that projected by the campus activist group Students Stand with Staff, which had predicted that as many as 200 positions would be eliminated. The layoffs' scope is limited when considered in light of a 2.5 percent workforce reduction at Harvard University, which fired 275 employees during the 2009 fiscal year, according to The Harvard Crimson.
Other parts of the plan seem to have taken suggestions by students and faculty into account. Kim, Senior Vice President Steven Kadish and acting Provost and Dean of the Faculty Carol Folt will donate 10 percent of their salaries to the Dartmouth College Fund and a "hardship fund," earmarked to help those affected by the layoffs. The action might have been a response to a faculty letter signed by 75 College professors that called on top-level administrators to cut their salaries to help alleviate the effects of budget cuts on staff.
Kim also highlighted the importance of making "back-of-the-house" cuts, changes that will improve functions behind the scene and preserve Dartmouth's "front-of-the-house" operations, which is, most importantly, the classroom.
Kim plans to eliminate approximately $25 million in expenses via "administrative reorganizing," noting that he will draw on his past experience streamlining operations in large non-profit organizations.
Additionally, Kim said he sought the help of a consultant from the accounting firm Deloitte and Touche, who helped bring a corporate-oriented approach to the budget cut process. Several of the budget plan's components, especially the restructuring of advising offices and consolidation of suppliers for office necessities, reflect Kim's focus on improving efficiency.
Cuts in categories like "administrative reorganization and restructuring", "program reductions" and "professional school savings" lack specific details, however. This means that many of the budget's effects remain to be seen, as these areas will account for $82 million in savings.
Just as Kim's fiscal strategy reflects his past as a non-profit organizer, his predecessor, former College President James Wright, emphasized a community-based program in line with his decades-long experience as a Dartmouth history professor. The final years of Wright's tenure, which coincided with the beginning of the current economic crisis, were characterized by statements about the College's "human wealth." The College's five-year report in 2003 ultimately reflected these priorities, emphasizing the importance of community and Dartmouth's role as a "good neighbor" in the Upper Valley, The Dartmouth previously reported.
Kim announced the College's intention to re-institute student loans for individuals with family incomes over $75,000, as opposed to the full grants they had received since the "no-loan" policy was implemented in 2008. Dartmouth will still increase its financial aid budget by 10 percent, however, and the plan does not do away with need-blind admissions, according to Kim.
By re-implementing student loans, Kim rolled back Wright's changes to Dartmouth's financial aid policy. The action follows a similar move to reinstate loans at Williams College, The New York Times reported, while aid packages at Brown University, Columbia University and Cornell University also include loans, according to the universities' web sites.
Ignoring students' "ability to pay" fulfills pledges Kim made earlier this year about maintaining need-blind admissions. The College awarded over $72 million in financial aid this past fall, a 13-percent increase from the previous year.
There will be an increase in tuition for the next academic year, but it is the smallest percentage increase in five years, according to the press release. The plan in the open letter submitted by the faculty, in contrast, included an additional surcharge on tuition for students not receiving financial aid.
No College programs, departments or sports will be entirely cut, Kim said. Cuts proposed in 2002 would have eliminated the College's swim team, a move which was met with strong resistance. The student and alumni reaction to the change led to the reinstatement of funding for the team, The Dartmouth previously reported.
