Wake Forest Magazine, June 2009 - Past Issues - Wake Forest ...

Staying the Course
By President Nathan O. Hatch
c o n s t a n t
&
t r u e
Dear Wake Forest Alumni and Friends:
As we conclude what has been a memorable academic
year on campus and a momentous time for our nation,
I would like to share with you, our alumni and friends,
some perspectives about our approach to managing Wake
Forest in these times of constraint. Let me first say with
confidence that our University is in an excellent position
to weather this downturn. We have strong fundamentals,
a valued product and outstanding leadership in our board
of trustees. In our most recent meeting of the board of
trustees, the senior leadership team presented our strategy
to move Wake Forest forward and establish our priorities
for the year. I would like to share this presentation with
you, who have invested so much in Wake Forest.
Each year the University sets the operating budget for
the coming year, a process that involves many and affects
everyone on campus. The budget reflects the priorities
and commitments of the campus, and in no time in
recent history has that statement been more important.
Wake Forest, like many institutions across the country,
is not immune to the powerful economic forces that
are influencing all of our daily lives. We are, however,
fortunate at Wake Forest to have had a long commitment
to financial prudence and to have just recently completed a
comprehensive strategic plan which defines our priorities
with great clarity and conviction. At a time when everyone
must adjust to new economic realities, we believe that
careful analysis, open discussion and clear communication
offer the best path to keeping Wake Forest strong and
resourceful. With that in mind, and with our priorities
clearly defined from last year’s excellent planning efforts,
let me share with you our strategy for the coming year at
Wake Forest.
FOCUSING ON THE FUNDAMENTALS
In preparing the budget for the coming fiscal year, our
overall challenges were to reduce costs appropriately,
reallocate funds strategically and focus continuously on
the fact that investment in our people is central to our
long-term success. To translate these ideas into action, we
articulated three broad goals:
—Continue to recruit and retain excellent faculty, staff
and administrators;
—Recruit students aggressively and provide sufficient
financial aid to meet increased needs; and
—Build, renovate and enhance key facilities to meet the
requirements of the University we are today.
Commitment to our People
In this challenging economic climate, when many of
our peer institutions are freezing salaries and cutting
positions, our first commitment remains to do all that
we can to retain our current staff and faculty within the
context of our stated goals above. However, in the coming
fiscal year there will be only limited funds in each unit
to continue our implementation of the University-wide
goal of bringing faculty and staff to market compensation
within a merit system. We are making strategic
moves, through a combination of permanent cuts to
administrative budgets and new dollars from incremental
enrollment growth and tuition increases, to provide
resources to make small investments where the need is
greatest to close compensation gaps for meritorious faculty
and staff. As a result, the majority of faculty and staff—
including all of the cabinet and the deans—will receive no
salary increase in FY10.
Commitment to our Students
In keeping with our focus on recruiting and retaining
top faculty and staff, we must continue our efforts to
attract outstanding students. The momentum we have at
Wake Forest is extraordinary. In contrast to downward
admission trends at many top-tier institutions, our
undergraduate admissions numbers have increased by
approximately 16 percent this year, a clear affirmation of
our investment in the strength of our entering class—and
of our policy to replace standardized testing with a more
nuanced admission process. However, the availability
of student financial aid to help families fulfill their
commitment to their sons’ and daughters’ education at
Wake Forest remains a daunting challenge.
www.wfu.edu/alumni june 2009 47