Investing in people and programs is necessary, even in tough times

When I joined Arizona State University as president last summer, I knew it was a great university with immense potential to be even greater. Something I didn't know, but that I learned very quickly, is that ASU is beloved.

ASU has made remarkable progress during the past decade. Many talented individuals have contributed to that success. My predecessors have laid a great foundation from which we can launch a new era.

At my inauguration Nov. 8, I outlined a vision for ASU that, hopefully, will be embraced by the ASU community, especially our alumni and supporters who recognize that a strong, high research institution is imperative to the economic futures of the Valley and state. Also imperative is our strong commitment to ensure all of our students receive the high quality education they expect and deserve.

The looming state fiscal crisis certainly puts added stress on our momentum, but we can't stand still under any circumstance. We are obligated to take our fair share of cuts while trying to protect, to the extent possible, our core academic mission. We have made selective budget reductions targeted primarily at the margins of the university. At the same time -- and perhaps this is difficult to comprehend during a time of tight budgetary constraints -- we have continued to make strategic investments: investments in people and investments in programs. This is part of our effort to move from an agency model to an enterprise model -- something we must do, given the fiscal stress and reduced contribution from our principle investor -- the state of Arizona.

Make no mistake, I am painfully aware that the impact of the cuts we've made has landed squarely on the shoulders of faculty, staff and administrators who are being asked to do more with less. We have committed to address, within these fiscal constraints, the salaries of our most critical faculty and administrators and to provide some relief to our lowest paid staff. Still, this doesn't solve the larger problem of underpaid productive faculty and staff that has plagued ASU for the past decade. More than $15 million of internal resources were reallocated during Fiscal Year 95 through Fiscal Year 2001 into faculty and staff pay raises to address market issues and general salary needs. This investment has not closed the market gap, but, until recently, kept us from falling further behind our peers.

It is during times like this that a university is most vulnerable to raids from other institutions targeting our best and brightest. We cannot let this happen. It is far more expensive to respond to external offers for our most competitive faculty and staff than to address issues preemptively. To that end, we will have addressed the salaries of more than 100 faculty. We also are aggressively competing in national markets to recruit more top faculty to ASU. In some cases, we are using resources from the Capital Campaign, such as endowed chairs and professorships, to reward, retain and recruit the most competitive faculty.

As part of a comprehensive reorganization of my administration in July, some positions were eliminated and some were newly created or greatly enhanced, while the total operating budget for executive compensation remained the same. As part of this effort, the salaries of some key administrators were adjusted following a national salary survey of comparable positions. The result is that the total cost for the executive leadership of the university remains constant over a two-year period. Some media accounts of this reorganization and the associated salary increases give the impression we are somehow moving large amounts of the university's budget into executive salaries to the detriment of core academic teaching or research programs. This simply is not true.

We must find ways to move ASU into as competitive a position as possible. This will happen if we make strategic investments in selected programs, but only if we have the best leadership, the strongest faculty and staff possible and the support of our alumni.

With the help of Proposition 301 revenue and other funds, we are making key investments even while we make difficult budget reductions and reallocations. Some of the selective investments include:

• $30 million of Prop 301 funds invested during FY02 and FY03 into economic drivers such as biosciences, bioengineering, information science, materials science, manufacturing, technology transfer and workforce development.
• More than $8 million from indirect costs and other state and local funds invested or to be invested during FY02 and FY03 in strategic initiatives such as, religion and conflict resolution, K-12 teacher preparation and improvement, creative writing, and a new school of life sciences.

Other states are investing in their research capacity to position themselves competitively to leverage research dollars into high value jobs. It is imperative that Arizona is positioned to do the same.

As president of ASU, I accept that many of my decisions will be questioned and challenged and I will enjoy meeting the challenges. In addition, I am committed to joining with the faculty, staff and alumni in the pursuit of excellence for ASU and the state of Arizona.

Michael M. Crow
President
Arizona State University

President Crow