The president of Northern Arizona University is preparing her financial plan for the next fiscal year. Rita Cheng says she’s optimistic as she gets ready for another year with less than ideal state funding. Arizona Public Radio’s Aaron Granillo reports.
Cheng told an audience at her State of the University address on Tuesday NAU has withstood the financial blow of losing more than $17 million from the state this fiscal year. Under Governor Doug Ducey’s newly proposed budget, only $1.5 million would be reinstated in 2017.
“It’s certainly not enough to meet the needs and to fill the gap in the budget cuts in recent years. However, it’s a great step forward,” says Cheng.
NAU cut 60 positions last year in response to the budget. Cheng doesn’t expect any staff cuts this year, but she says some employees can expect bigger workloads.
“Departments are operating with less staff than they had before. And, that’s not easy and sometimes that’s not sustainable long term," says Cheng. "But, it’s something that we’re committed to looking for ways to reduce the need for more staff.”
Cheng also says pay raises for university employees are not out of the question. Further discussion on compensation will come up later this week.
