BY DANTE FUOCO

In print | Published October 1, 2009 — Updated October 07, 2009 17:04

President Rebecca Chopp released an update on Monday about college finances in an e-mail to the campus community. The Phoenix’s Dante Fuoco spoke with Chopp to clarify and expand upon the details of the letter.

Dante Fuoco: Why do you feel it’s important to address the college community?

Rebecca Chopp: The national and global economic downturn has placed the economy at the forefront of everyone’s concern and we need to be responsive to that concern. We are all in this together and so I want to update the community on the latest decisions by the Managers. The decision to formulate an $8 million implementation program to address the effects of the downturn in the economy is a significant clarification in the context of the overall $15 million plan we have been working on. The $8 million program would be implemented over the next several years making it possible to adjust the program in relation to changes in the economy.

DF: Speaking from your position as a member of the Ad Hoc Financial Planning Group, what were some of the things the group has discussed or decided so far? Were there any common ideas discussed? Common concerns?

RC: The Ad Hoc Financial Planning Group decided to propose an $8 million program because our endowment decreased by 16.8 percent. While this is still a significant loss, it is better than the projected loss of 30 percent in value. The Managers endorsed the idea of an 8 percent plan. The Ad Hoc Committee will now develop the implementation plan considering all suggestions from the community. Because $8 million is a significant adjustment in our budget, we are thoroughly considering all possible ideas. We want to be responsive to all suggestions. We are looking at ways to increase revenue as well as ways to reduce expenses.

DF: How transparent will the Ad Hoc Financial Planning Group be (or how transparent can they be) with the college community about future plans?

RC: As the letter indicates, in mid-November we hope to take preliminary ideas to the community for feedback before taking a proposal to the Board of Managers. We also hope to have very open discussions on issues such as benefits, which many staff have discussed with us. We are having discussions with the faculty about changes in the academic budget.

DF: Why is it important for the Ad Hoc Financial Planning Group to have discussions with staff, faculty, and students? What will be discussed? How seriously will the Ad Hoc Financial Planning Group take these discussions into their plans for the proposal for the Board in December? You mention that there will be a meeting later this week. Is that still going to happen?

RC: Discussions with staff, faculty and students are important so that we can get the very best ideas, hear the nature of people’s concerns, and share information and preliminary plans as they become available. We have been and will continue to take people’s ideas and suggestions very seriously. This week we will be having meetings with students, with staff and with faculty.

DF: In the letter, you mention elimination of some positions occurring through attrition rather than through layoffs. I have heard some people say that this is not fair to the people with the same or similar jobs because this would just give them more work. How would you respond to that?

RC: We heard from our community that we should avoid layoffs if at all possible and, as we value every member of our community, we agree. We are also aware that we need to find a way to adjust our budget by $8 million. So every time a position comes open we are considering if that position can be eliminated and the work either stopped or redistributed. If work is redistributed that means other work will need to cease. Attrition may result in a decrease of services here and there but that seems preferable to layoffs. We are facing difficult choices and are approaching them with great care.

DF: You encourage the college community to pass on additional suggestions to the Ad Hoc committee members. Has anyone directly done this (either with you, or with other members)? If so, what were some of the things said? Has this been useful?

RC: Yes, many individuals have passed on suggestions to me and other committee members. We have had numerous suggestions, for instance, relating to sustainability and how best to save money and improve the level and range of sustainable practices on the campus. We are taking all suggestions seriously. The Ad Hoc Committee, like everyone else, finds the talk of adjusting the budget very difficult. Everyone at Swarthmore is operating in good faith and I am very impressed with how we are all working together.

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