Glassman recently wrote an email to students, clarifying state budget issues.
Glassman recently wrote an email to students, clarifying state budget issues.
Thanking the student body for its spirited support during difficult recent days, Eastern Illinois University (EIU) President David Glassman recently penned a clear, well-organized email to dispel rumors and anxiety about potential impacts on the university’s fiscal health.
“You make me proud to be the president of this beloved university,” Glassman said. “Several of you are wondering about the budgetary impasse in Springfield and how it is affecting EIU.”
Glassman went on to explain how the school’s annual budget depends on state funding as well as tuition and fees. Without state support, college costs would be much higher. Each university in Illinois is allotted annual amounts. Because legislators have been unable to agree on a state budget — overshooting its deadline of May 31, 2015, long ago —appropriations have come to a standstill, and EIU has been forced to rely on emergency funds.
If a solution isn’t reached soon, Glassman said, 177 civil service employees will face layoffs, and staff will be forcibly furloughed — not just at Eastern Illinois University, but statewide.
“We have every expectation that EIU will receive its Fiscal Year 2016 appropriation by the end of the semester and that our Fiscal Year 2017 appropriation will be enacted in a timely manner,” he said.
Glassman systematically listed and quelled rumors one by one, starting with the common “Is EIU closing?” query and handling fears to reassure students that all will, eventually, be well.
The university will remain open; it will not be sold; and there will be no programs cut or accreditation lost. Glassman encouraged students to contact him with any concerns.
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