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Chancellor's Budget Report Is Upbeat by Julia Sommer, Public
Affairs At the fall meeting of the Academic Senate on Oct. 8, Chancellor Berdahl reported on this year's relatively rosey budget picture. "The Berkeley campus in fiscal year 1998-99 will directly benefit from an exceptional year for state funding of higher education," he said. For the first time in many years, the UC system's allocation exceeded its budget request, he reported. Thanks to the addition of $32.4 million in mostly one-time funds from the state -- more than double last year's amount -- along with campus fundraising, interest earnings, revenue from sales and services, and new long-term debt financing, total revenue to the campus this year will increase by $55.8 million, said the Chancellor. "This gives us an opportunity to further our goals in many areas, including rebuilding our library, improving the seismic safety of our buildings, increasing outreach efforts, and enhancing the use of technology for instruction and campuswide operations," he said. The Governor's four-year compact with higher education met agreements for increases in faculty and staff salaries for '98-'99, said the Chancellor. "At Berkeley, this means we have now fully rebuilt our faculty ranks and are again in a competitive position with comparison institutions in faculty salaries." Undergraduate fees have been reduced by five percent. Berkeley's operating budget this year is a record $1 billion. State general funds account for 35 percent of it, with student fees contributing 15 percent. These revenue sources are primarily dedicated to salaries and benefits. Another 30 percent of the campus budget comes in "extramural" funds -- federal, state, and private grants and contracts designated for specific projects. Ten percent, or $100 million, comes from self-supporting auxiliary enterprises, such as University Extension. The remaining 10 percent of the budget, from state and other funds and endowment income, has allowed Berkeley to make the following allocations this year, among others: • $4.9 million to rebuild and strengthen library collections and operations; • $30.8 million for seismic capital improvements -- if Prop. 1A passes -- for upgrades of Wurster and Barker Halls; $820,000 for LeConte Hall planning if it doesn't; • $23.4 million for deferred maintenance; • $5.2 million for improvements to networked computing; • $4.78 million for academic programs, infrastructure and departmental support; • $7.9 million to help implement Berkeley Administrative Initiatives, which will streamline and modernize financial systems and human resource management; • $1.6 million to expand outreach and school partnerships. The Chancellor noted that the backlog of deferred campus maintenance is a "serious threat to our research infrastructure. Anyone who suffered through the power outage last spring during final exams knows first-hand how unreliable our electrical systems have become. And that is just one small part of a $160 million problem. Nearly one-third of all deferred maintenance needs in the entire UC system is on this campus." The Chancellor also reported that his on-going discussions to secure Federal Emergency Management Act (FEMA) funds for the SAFER Program are "progressing extremely well." The Chancellor's Budget Report is on the web at http://www.berkeley.edu/budgetreport.
Hard copies are available by e-mailing mff@uclink.berkeley.edu
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