Academic Senate Chair explains the recent changes in ISU’s budget

NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State University’s budget is looking a little different than it has in years past, but university officials claim we’re still in good financial standing.

Last month, President Aondover Tarhule announced the formation of a Resilience, Innovation, Sustainability and Excellence (RISE) task force, which will be in charge of the reductions that Tarhule sees as necessary.

Academic Senate Chairperson Martha Horst recently led the senate’s budget and got an overview of the university’s financial difficulty. The budget received a 2% cut overall, with more specific reductions likely to come.

“The trends they’re seeing are that the revenues are going up at a certain rate and the expenses are going up at a faster rate,” Horst said. “So our expenses are going to exceed our revenues in the near future.”

Horst referenced the University of Connecticut, which recently cut 70 different majors, and has 245 more that are considered “at risk of being cut.” However, Horst emphasized that ISU is not considering major cuts of that type. Rather, RISE is trying to avoid problems before they start.

“There are a lot of universities that are in trouble; we are not one of those universities,” Horst said. “We are in a position where we are seeing trends, and we’re trying to react to those trends. If we don’t react to those trends, […] we could be one of those universities.”

Horst is the co-chair of the RISE task force and describes her job as figuring out “how to align expenses with expenditures.” As a professor in the School of Music, Horst does not see herself as an expert on budgeting. While RISE works within the university, there are also plans to collaborate with Grant Thornton, a prominent economic consulting firm.

“President Tarhule has charged us to take charge of the situation right now and work as a community to try to address it in a proactive way,” Horst said. “People should be aware that this is going on, and it’s going on as a national trend and an international trend, too. We’re part of something that’s not necessarily local to ISU.”

Board of Trustees Chair Kathryn Bone did not respond to interview requests.