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Scarborough's next move...


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In looking at the condition of the University and range of cuts needed/ planned, I have to think more sports will be cut, and I would expect a salary roll back in a yr or two on some well paid coaches-- or across the board.

The AD got off light. It's 6.6% of the budget but only bore 1.7% of the cuts.

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University needs to come up with another $20M in cuts since that was stated. Remember that the original plan was $40M in cuts and $20M in fees. The state forced UA to roll back the fees.

From the original plan, 10mil was expected to come from an increase in fees, and 10mil was expected to come from an increase in enrollment. The university cut back on the fees because they received additional funding from the state that they weren't expecting. I don't think they were "forced" to, but it was damage control nonetheless.
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Too bad it wasn't Obama stimulus dollars-- then there'd be no debt.

Dyer's column is devastating in the picture it paints of Scar's leadership so far. And Proenza's. The headline is deadly "UA's demise". wow. This whole thing has been a PR disaster. Why would anyone go to UA, play for UA, contribute to UA at this point? Just devastating...

One thing I think he should have noted is that UA's construction binge wasn't unusual or fantastically egregious-- our debt is large, but not unheard of. The reality is the campus desperately needed investment. He missed acknowledging this. He also didn't note that this was a huge investment in Akron, probably the single biggest investment in Akron in decades. Resources didn't leave the area-- they came in. Thousands of construction jobs and $600 million of local investment. He should be saying "it's a fantastic and amazing thing to have that investment occur but now how does the community help justify the faith that Proenza showed by making this investment?"

I dunno-- something still seems really off to me. Did revenues plummet (because of enrollment declines) or expenses increase unexpectedly by tens of millions? Was there an accounting change of some sort? A sudden $60 million "hole" doesn't just appear out of nowhere.

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Too bad it wasn't Obama stimulus dollars-- then there'd be no debt.

Dyer's column is devastating in the picture it paints of Scar's leadership so far. And Proenza's. The headline is deadly "UA's demise". wow. This whole thing has been a PR disaster. Why would anyone go to UA, play for UA, contribute to UA at this point? Just devastating...

One thing I think he should have noted is that UA's construction binge wasn't unusual or fantastically egregious-- our debt is large, but not unheard of. The reality is the campus desperately needed investment. He missed acknowledging this. He also didn't note that this was a huge investment in Akron, probably the single biggest investment in Akron in decades. Resources didn't leave the area-- they came in. Thousands of construction jobs and $600 billion of local investment. He should be saying "it's a fantastic and amazing thing to have that investment occur but now how does the community help justify the faith that Proenza showed by making this investment?"

I dunno-- something still seems really off to me. Did revenues plummet (because of enrollment declines) or expenses increase unexpectedly by tens of millions? Was there an accounting change of some sort? A sudden $60 million "hole" doesn't just appear out of nowhere.

Did Proenza cook the books until he could get out the door, and they're letting him off the hook because they don't want the legal battles and pr hit as well as it would directly call the trustees oversight into question? Not saying he did, but I wouldn't mind seeing some outside financial analysts brought in to dig up exactly WTF happened.

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Did Proenza cook the books until he could get out the door, and they're letting him off the hook because they don't want the legal battles and pr hit as well as it would directly call the trustees oversight into question? Not saying he did, but I wouldn't mind seeing some outside financial analysts brought in to dig up exactly WTF happened.

The University is independently audited annually by Plante Moran.

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Kathy Liszka, a computer science professor at the University of Akron, said she knows about the existing freshman success seminar “The Akron Experience,” because she’s taught it.

“The faculty and staff are trained and the experts on assisting students to navigate the university and college experience, everything from how to take quizzes, the different types of learning styles, to how to study and juggle a social life … tell me how we’re not helping our students succeed,” Liszka said.

Ms. Liska, the University of Akron has only 14 percent of the students graduate in four years. • Only 38 percent graduate in six years. Hmm, I think it is time to take a different approach :P

With regards to the "outsourcing" aspect of bringing in Trust Navigator, I think this seems to be a prudent move and a likely trend. We have already seen this with the outsourcing of the food services. Akron runs its own dining services and has done since the university was founded in 1870. Per the report, Akron food services employs some 80 full- and part-time food, catering and retail workers, not including students. Now, following a tightening budget, due in part to declining enrollment, the decision to outsource dining services has come to the forefront.

Outsourcing is a common practice today. I work in technology, when businesses outsource their IT initiatives to us (because we are experts) they are allowed to focus their efforts on their core competencies. It provides tremendous cost saving since you are not having to employ and pay benefits to your own IT staff - and allows you to continue with growth and innovation.

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