Source: uSask News Release | Saskatoon – Members of the University of Saskatchewan campus community attended a financial town hall today to hear about progress towards the university’s goal of financial sustainability by 2016.
The focus was on TransformUS, an initiative underway at the university to prioritize all of its programs and services in order to invest in its most important work.
“We know these are challenging times for members of our campus community – our faculty, our staff and our students – as we wait to learn the outcomes of TransformUS,” said Provost and Vice-President Academic Brett Fairbairn.
“We are doing this for a reason and we want to take the time to do this right. We are confident the changes we undertake will strengthen us as one of Canada’s top universities and place us in a financial situation where we are free to capitalize on opportunities, invest in our priorities and excel in our research and learning mandates.”
The U of S will be releasing two TransformUS reports on December 9, 2013 – one will outline recommended resource changes to academic programs and the other to administrative services. These recommendations will be presented to President Ilene Busch-Vishniac by two independent internal task forces, and are the first steps in deciding on how resources are allocated to programs and services at the university.
The goal of TransformUS is to reduce the operating budget by $20-25 million per year, with up to $5 million reinvested in the highest priority programs. Decisions will be announced in May 2014.
“In addition to TransformUS, we are looking at multiple strategies to not only reduce expenses but also increase our revenue,” added Greg Fowler, vice-president finance and resources at the town hall meeting. “We are not alone in our financial challenges as a post-secondary institution, but what makes us unique is the time we have to make the best decisions to secure our long-term financial sustainability.”