Spring Break
Texas A&M Interim President Loftin shares plan
Open forum provides input opportunity for students, faculty and staff
By: Meagan O'Toole-Pitts
Issue date: 6/25/09 Section: News
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In a memorandum Monday, Loftin announced his plan to review administrative staffing patterns, in both the president's office and in vice president areas.
"I've asked that, I repeat, I've asked that non-faculty employees making more than $175,000 be excluded from [merit increases]," Loftin said. "I will not get a pay raise, at all."
With the recent resignation of executive vice president for operations H. Russell Cross, Loftin said he doesn't plan to fill the position as an additional effort to cut costs.
"He's been a great friend of mine and a great supporter of the Galveston campus so I really miss his skills," Loftin said. "I won't replace him, I can't replace him literally, so that office will be abolished and that means that my work load will go up."
Also announced in Monday's memorandum was a reduction of the 3 percent merit program to a 2 percent mandatory merit pool: 1.5 percent funded centrally and 0.5 percent from departmental funds.
Reducing the merit pool will provide flexibility in preparing the fiscal year 2011 operating budget, Loftin noted in the memorandum.
"It affects you, but I hope you'll be willing to sacrifice the 1 percent to help us," Loftin said. "I'm cutting $800,000 in salary budget of my office. I will never ask of you what I won't ask of myself."
Departments will not have to cut back on absolute necessities, Loftin said.
"We will make adjustments. We will not force them to cut into what they really have to have to accomplish their missions. We're going to be carefully working with every single unit."
Divisions unable to supply such funds should contact the budget office, Loftin noted the memorandum, and will be assisted on a case-by-case basis.
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