Friday is the deadline for the eight colleges of the university to report how they will handle the amount of the budget cut assigned to them. These most recent budget cuts are a result of a 2.5 across-the-board state cut by Gov. Tom Vilsack and university revenue shortfalls.

For close to a month and a half, college deans have determined how to cut funds from their already-formed 2003—04 school year budgets.

The eight colleges have two sections to each of their budgets — the central budget and the department and units budgets.

The central budget includes money for programs, supplies and services within the overall college. Examples include student services, placement offices and international programs within a college.

The departments and units within the colleges have their own individual budgets.

The following are the solutions the deans reported to the central administration of the university.

College of Design

Dean Mark Engelbrecht

Cut: $176,246 — 1.84 percent of its budget

One-third of the College of Design’s cut came from the central administration, one-third from architecture and one-third from art and design.

“It’s not as grand as it sounds,” Engelbrecht said. “But there is some grumbling.”

Roughly $60,000 will be reverted from each account.

The central budget will cut back on the 25th anniversary celebrations, lose one professional and scientific position, which they will not be able to fill until next year, and lose one graphic design position, which will be reconsidered next year, but will not be filled until the college has the funds available.

Architecture will fill their part of the reversion by not filling one vacant position next spring. They will also temporarily eliminate a few elective courses set to be offered next spring.

Elective courses in art and design will possibly be cut, Engelbrecht said, and the department will cut back on travel expenses and most of the faculty supplies and services for this year.

The landscape architecture and community and regional planning departments will not be sharing in this reversion because they have previously taken large cuts to their budgets, Engelbrecht said. To accommodate a budget cut a few years ago, the two departments were moved under a single chairperson.

While the cuts are significant, Engelbrecht said it is not affecting students’ schedules within the college.

“I think all of our students are still on track to graduate,” he said. “There are just a few elective courses we can not put in front of our students now.”

College of Business

Dean Labh Hira

Cut: $214,504 — 1.86 percent of its budget

The College of Business accommodated the reversion by delaying hiring of staff, which was planned for the spring, not hiring as many lecturers and not renewing graduate assistantships that end after the fall semester, said Labh Hira, dean of the College of Business.

The college will also cut back on travel expenses, promotional material and other supplies and services.

College of Engineering

Dean James Melsa

Cut: $625,049 — 1.84 percent of its budget

The College of Engineering cut its central administrative budget by $335,000 and distributed the remaining $290,000 differentially across the departments.

The cut to the central funds — representing half of their budget — eliminated three vacant faculty positions, which are not planned to be replaced until the college has extra funds to fill the positions again. Three professional and scientific and one merit position will also be eliminated. Funding for three research graduate positions will be transferred from state funds to other means, such as research grants.

The additional $290,000 will be handled by the departments through a cutback in supplies and services. Some of the funds are planned to be reimbursed through the use of other accounts, such as gift funds.

Engineering Dean James Melsa said the college tried to lessen the impact on the students while still sustaining movement toward their top priorities.

“We tried to minimize [cuts in areas] that would have long-term effects,” he said. “The fact is, we are not doing things we could be doing.”

College of Family & Consumer Sciences

Interim Dean Pam White

Cut: $156,818 — 1.84 percent of its budget

A 4.25 percent cut was made to the administrative budget of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences and a 1.25 percent cut was distributed among the departments.

Through the administrative budget, funds will be coming from student services, international activities, Alumni Relations and Development, computer support, communications and the Dean’s Office, said Pam White, interim dean of the college.

To cover this one-time cost, some class sections within the college will not be offered and many temporary faculty and staff will not be rehired for the spring semester, White said. Vacant faculty positions will not be filled in the spring. The money from these accounts will also go toward the reversion.

College of Agriculture

Dean Catherine Woteki

Cut: $950,240 — 1.6 percent of its budget and Agriculture Experiment Station reversion

The implementation of the cuts will not take effect in the College of Agriculture until the next school year. To cover the reversion currently, the College of Agriculture absorbed money from vacant faculty positions and also used funds from a variety of different accounts including “unobligated funds,” such as revenue from food sales and contracts.

“We are trying to maintain maximum flexibility,” said Dean Catherine Woteki.

During the next school year, the College of Agriculture plans to make up the $950,240 deficit through the following: $533,011 by leaving faculty positions unfilled; $100,000 by transferring research staff salaries to contracts, grants or revolving accounts; $200,000 through faculty salary recovery; $67,229 by the Agriculture Extension using revolving accounts; and $50,000 in the reorganization of the Dean’s Office.

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Interim Dean Michael Whiteford

Cut: $1,203,098 — 1.84 percent of its budget

The central administration of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences absorbed one-third of the $1,203,098 and the other two-thirds was assigned to the departments.

Although no layoffs occurred in the college, the college has been forced to cut down on hourly help by reducing hours and not rehiring some help for the spring semester, said Michael Whiteford, dean of LAS.

A number of departments will make up the cut by dipping into their supplies and services. Faculty travel and faculty development, including funding seminars and materials, will also be cut back.

“This continues to just hurt because the pool of money gets smaller and smaller,” Whiteford said.

College of Veterinary Medicine

Dean Norman Cheville

Cut: $346,072 — 1.84 percent of its budget

Dean Norman Cheville was unavailable for comment.