Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., has announced plans for UNMC to reduce its state-supported budget by an additional $2 million.
“These were not easy decisions, and there is pain in these cuts,” Dr. Maurer said. “We will overcome this, however, and move forward on our trajectory to become a world-class academic health sciences center.”
Dr. Maurer outlined the cuts at campus forums on Monday and Tuesday.
The reduction will entail two different elements. They include:
- University Medical Associates, the faculty practice plan of UNMC physicians, has made a commitment of support of $1 million annually to help the College of Medicine manage its reductions.
- It is anticipated that there will be an average 1.25 percent increase in the UNMC employee salary pool for each of the next two years. UNMC received a 1.75 percent increase in this pool, but the difference, which amounts to about $1 million, will be used to save jobs and programs.
The University of Nebraska’s biennial budget was approved Saturday by the NU Board of Regents. The state-supported portion of the budget is $50 million less than it was in the budget approved two years ago.
The cuts were necessitated by a downturn in the state’s economy, which drove state revenues lower than projections. Over the past 18 months, UNMC’s state-supported budget has been reduced by $11.2 million, or 11.7 percent.
“If our budget hadn’t been cut, those monies could have been used to build excellence in programs,” Dr. Maurer said. “It has affected our momentum somewhat, but I’m still excited about where our campus is going.
“We will get through this, and we will continue in our quest to be world-class.”