Robert H. Bruininks, President Emeritus

« THANK U! Join the President and First Lady for Free Ice Cream Tuesday on Northrop Plaza | Main | Dedicated People Make the University Work »

June 16, 2011

Advancing Excellence Through Cost Reductions and Productivity

As mentioned at the June 10 meeting of the Board of Regents, we have completed a final report on Transforming the U, entitled Financing the Future: Advancing Excellence Through Cost Reductions and Productivity. This report details our efforts over the past decade to reduce costs, improve productivity, and grow non-state revenue in a sustainable way. Many of the initiatives detailed in this report have been mentioned in other documents over the course of the past several months; however, I would like to highlight a few key productivity measures from the Key Conclusions section of the report. These measures drive home the hard work and incredible dedication of our faculty and staff.

From fiscal year 2001 through fiscal year 10:

Total employee headcount: up 6.9%, or 0.7% per year
State appropriation per employee: down 0.9%
State appropriation per full-year equivalent student: down 11.5%

During that same period:

FYE students per employee: up 11.9%
Degrees per employee: up 31.8%
Sponsored research funding per employee: up 50.2%

Also during this time, the University has recruited more and better-prepared students; improved the student experience through the all-University Honors program and other initiatives; retained and graduated those students in higher numbers; raised unprecedented private support for scholarships, fellowships, and the University's academic mission; grown its research enterprise to garner record levels of federal support; transformed our technology commercialization processes; and managed existing resources in order to sustain this momentum despite three separate and historically deep state budget cuts. Unfortunately, today Minnesota is among the leading states in the nation in reducing funding for higher education.

I hope you will each take the time to review the report and reflect on the scope and magnitude of our achievements together. We've come a long way these past nine years, and I am truly grateful for your hard work and support.

Sincerely,

Robert H. Bruininks

President

Posted on June 16, 2011 5:30 PM | Permalink