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President Murphy: Important Budget Update - April 5, 2011
Dear
Colleagues,
Welcome to spring quarter. It's good to see
our students back, classes beginning, and even a hint that we are past
the dreary weather. We are again working to add students into every
available open seat, as we are trying to restore our enrollment after
the drop we experienced in fall and winter. I appreciate your work to
accommodate our students.
I also want to extend my appreciation to
everyone who is working on our Accreditation Self Study and continuing
to move forward with Student Learning Outcomes, Student Services
Learning Outcomes, and Administrative Unit Outcomes assessment cycles
(don't forget to put the SLO Convocation on your calendar for the
15th). The work on accreditation has been intense. We will share the
draft Self Study with governance groups and the college community
beginning at the end of the month, and will hold a Town Hall meeting
in mid-May. We will take the Self Study to College Council for
approval prior to presenting to the board of trustees in June. The
report will detail much of what is exceptional about the college, and
will position us well for the accreditation team visit Oct. 24 through
27.
On the other hand, the budget news is bad.
The immediate issue is the failure of Republican legislators to reach
agreement with the governor to place an extension of current taxes on
a June special ballot. The absence of the tax extension means that the
legislature and governor must cut additional dollars from existing
programs.
Chancellor Thor last night sent to you a
detailed account of the district's current planning parameters as we
try to craft a path through the financial crisis the state is handing
us.
The bottom line for De Anza College is that
we face an unprecedented reduction in our operating funds, with
resulting cuts to academic and support programs. We have been working
on a best case/worst case scenario, and now must move to the worst
case. This could mean a loss of approximately $15 million to $16
million for De Anza.
The level of reductions is unimaginable, and
yet we must imagine it. The college has a robust and transparent
planning process in place through the three Planning and Budget Teams,
and we will share their work widely across the campus, including
through Town Hall meetings, as we learn more about the actual cuts
Sacramento imposes.
I will forward state budget news as it
emerges, as well as possibilities for our own engagement. Our students
have been among the most active and engaged in the entire state, and
their voices will matter as the legislature debates where to cut and
what to protect.
I look forward to a time when I can send a
positive and happy note about budgets, and then focus only on the work
we do with students. It is deeply sad to have the state abandon what
all of us have devoted our lives to: a system of public education
available to all and defined by its quality. But as labor organizer
Joe Hill said: "Don't mourn, organize."
Sincerely,
Brian Murphy
Mission
Statement
De Anza College provides
an academically rich, multicultural learning environment that
challenges students of every background to develop their intellect,
character and abilities; to realize their goals; and to be socially
responsible leaders in their communities, the nation and the
world.
De Anza College fulfills
its mission by engaging students in creative work that demonstrates
the knowledge, skills and attitudes contained within the college's
Institutional Core Competencies:
* Communication and
expression
* Information
literacy
* Physical/mental
wellness and personal responsibility
* Global, cultural,
social and environmental awareness
* Critical
thinking
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