Hello colleagues
Last night, our team had a very sobering conversation with our Board of Trustees. We alerted them to our awareness that the university faces a significant cash flow issue that will impact SOU as we move through the last quarter of the fiscal year and into the summer.
Even as we move through the SOU Resiliency Plan, and fight together to lean into our future, our current financial status remains challenging. Be assured that we are moving quickly to address the issue; I and a number of board members are currently in Salem working collaboratively to identify potential solutions.
We have appreciated – and continue to need – your support as we face these difficult issues.
Each of us can impact our future in the short term, so I ask that we come together to be ever more vigilant regarding expenses. Because we remain in a state of financial exigency, the following measures regarding expenditures are critically important:
· Travel – Any travel needs to be approved by the supervising vice president. For travel already approved or scheduled, please still contact the appropriate vice president.
· Hiring – We are implementing another hiring freeze until further notice. Exceptions to this must be approved by the leadership team. We are removing from our website all job postings that are not exceptions.
· Service and Supplies – All spending above $1,000 for service and supplies must be pre-approved by a supervisor. We will schedule budget reviews as soon as possible. In the interim, please review your budgets and help us look for savings.
· Continuing Education/Professional Development Accounts – Our initial assessment is that we may be able to fund continuing education and faculty professional development requests based on immediate and urgent need. We will engage in dialog with APSOU to develop guidelines in this area. Previously approved requests for this academic year will undergo the same review process.
As we continue to navigate the SOU Resiliency plan and move toward a healthier and more sustainable fiscal future, we recognize that all of us have to play a part. Our robust enrollment and retention strategies will definitely help, and we appreciate all you have done – and are currently doing – to help our university. We will need your assistance later this month in Salem to help tell the SOU story. More information is forthcoming.
All of these measures will play an important part as we work to manage cash flow and put ourselves in the best position to ask for support from the state. I know that everyone is feeling scared and anxious. Rest assured, we are exploring every possibility to help support our institution. We won’t stop fighting for this institution we love so dearly. Please take this guidance seriously, and let’s help each other lift our institution to a healthy and vibrant fiscal future.
Thank you for your cooperation, team.
