U News
 | | Pictured from left to right are University President Bob Bruininks, Senior Vice President for Health Sciences Frank Cerra, head of the University of Minnesota Medical School Department of Pediatrics Aaron Friedman, Caroline Amplatz, and Fairview Health Services President and CEO Mark Eustis. |
University of Minnesota President Bob Bruininks told the Board of Regents at its February meeting that his administration is considering a number of options to deal with the budget crisis. The biennial budget proposed by Governor Tim Pawlenty (B.A. ’83, J.D. ’86) would cut $156.1 million from the U’s budget, or $78 million in 2010 and 2011 each. Noting that three cost-saving measures have already been put in place—a hiring pause, an executive salary freeze, and a retirement incentive option that was offered in 2008—Bruininks estimated that at least two-thirds of further cost reductions would come from limiting or cutting academic programs, cuts in administration, and other reductions except tuition aid. Likely options are administrative reorganization, salary and wage freezes (subject to collective bargaining), health benefits plan design changes, furloughs, and cost reductions in purchasing, energy, printing, and space management. A tuition increase of 7.5 percent is being considered to make up for one-third of the shortfall.
Bruininks emphasized that the proposed cuts are not the only budget challenges the U faces. In 2010 alone, the U has $55 million in facilities’ operating cost, debt, and legal and contractual obligations that cannot be deferred.
It is not yet clear how much money the U will receive under the economic stimulus bill Congress passed on February 17. Key provisions of the bill include funding directed toward student aid in the form of Pell grants, work study, and tax credits; scientific research; and education aid for states, which may include allotments for modernization of higher education facilities at the discretion of individual governors.
Leadership of the Medical School will be restructured and the 104-year-old Graduate School will be eliminated under reorganization plans intended to streamline administration. Under the restructuring of the Medical School, the largest unit of the Academic Health Center, the position of dean will be combined with that of senior vice president for health sciences. University President Bob Bruininks appointed current senior vice president for health sciences Frank Cerra to the position, pending approval by the Board of Regents, until a permanent hire can be made. A national search will be conducted in early 2010 for the new senior vice president and dean, with appointment expected by fall of that year. Current Medical School Dean Deborah Powell would assume an administrative role in the area of medical education, effective July 1, 2009. In a memo to the Board of Regents, Bruininks said the combined role will result in more focused leadership and more efficient use of resources in this severely challenged economy.
With the elimination of the Graduate School, administration of graduate programs will shift to the new Office for Graduate Education within the office of Provost Tom Sullivan. That office will be responsible for oversight, coordination, and leadership on issues related to graduate education and will approve changes to graduate programs. Ultimate responsibility and accountability for the quality of individual graduate programs will be with collegiate deans and their faculty. The move will result in a significant downsizing—the Graduate School currently has 50 full-time-equivalent positions and an office on the Duluth campus. Despite a petition signed by 18 Regents professors asking that the decision be postponed for broader consultation, Bruininks said the new reporting lines will be effective July 1, 2009, with full implementation expected by fall 2010.
The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) awarded the University of Minnesota Libraries its 2009 Excellence in Academic Libraries Award. The award recognizes the staff of a college, university, and community college for programs that deliver exemplary services and resources to further the educational mission of the institution. The ACRL recognized the U libraries’ programs for supporting users as they conduct scholarship. The award carries a $3,000 prize and a plaque that will be presented at the American Library Association annual conference in July.
—Cynthia Scott
 | | | |  | | Hospital Receives $50 million Gift | The new University Children’s Hospital will be named the University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital in recognition of a $50 million gift from Caroline Amplatz in honor of her father, Kurt Amplatz. The hospital, which broke ground last summer, is on schedule to open by mid-2011.
Kurt Amplatz was a professor of radiology at the University from 1957 until his retirement in 1999. A pioneer in the use of noninvasive techniques, he holds more than 30 patents for inventions, including the Amplatzer septal occluder, a tiny device used to repair a congenital heart defect in children without open heart surgery. At age 84, Amplatz continues to develop new devices and treatment protocols in his retirement.
Caroline Amplatz, a member of the University Pediatrics Foundation board of directors, is president of La Carolina and Caroline’s Kids, foundations that support a wide range of children’s health issues.
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