Prioritize University-Wide Budget Alternatives Before Further Academic Program Reductions

Section I

1.1 WHEREAS the University of Oregon faces a Education and General (E&G) fund deficit in FY27 and a projected multi-year structural budget shortfall;

1.2 WHEREAS permanent reductions to academic programs, faculty positions, instructional capacity, graduate education, and student-facing academic services may produce long-term and difficult-to-reverse consequences for the University’s core teaching and research mission;

1.3 WHEREAS the University should, before making further permanent reductions to academic capacity, fully examine Enterprise Level alternatives, such as those described below and those presented by United Academics' budget report that distribute the burden of fiscal adjustment more broadly across the institution;

1.4 WHEREAS transfers from the E&G fund to centrally funded capital projects have varied substantially over the past five fiscal years, generally ranging from approximately $8 million to $18 million annually, indicating that the overall level of E&G support for capital expenditures contains a meaningful discretionary component;

1.5 WHEREAS some E&G-supported capital obligations, including existing debt service and highly leveraged state matching commitments, may be fixed or fiscally prudent, but expenditures for new capital commitments, project scope expansions, centrally financed cost overruns, and E&G backstops for incomplete external financing should face heightened scrutiny during a structural operating deficit;

1.6 WHEREAS reducing or deferring discretionary E&G support for centrally funded capital projects could potentially provide approximately $2 million to $8 million in annual operating relief, depending on the composition of annual commitments;

1.7 WHEREAS IPEDS data indicate that UO expenditures categorized as Institutional Management/Support account for approximately 13 percent of salary expenditures, compared with an average of approximately 8.8 percent among public AAU peer institutions;

1.8 WHEREAS bringing UO administrative expenditures closer to comparable peer levels could potentially generate approximately $18 million in annual savings, subject to further verification of comparable functions and accounting categories;

1.9 WHEREAS the UO Foundation currently assesses a 5 percent gift fee on many donations and transfers the resulting revenue to the University primarily to support advancement and fundraising activities;

1.10 WHEREAS redirecting one percentage point of the existing 5 percent gift assessment to the core academic mission, without increasing the fee charged to donors, could generate approximately $1.5 million to $2 million annually for teaching, research, graduate education, libraries, and other academic purposes; and a one percentage increase from 5 percent to 6 percent in the gift assessment could achieve the same effect; 

1.11 WHEREAS the UO Foundation’s unallocated funds ($114M FY25), plus interest and investments on those funds, offer possibilities for funding new Graduate Fellowships or Undergraduate Scholarships;

1.12 WHEREAS the UO Internal Bank’s Presidential Initiatives Fund (PIF) has accumulated substantial one-time resources in recent years from investment earnings and the interest-rate spread generated by the Internal Bank;

1.13 WHEREAS approximately $24.9 million was projected to remain in the Presidential Initiatives Fund after identified FY26 allocations, while future contributions to the fund are market-dependent they could still contribute to an additional multi-year revenue source;

1.14 WHEREAS Presidential Initiative Fund resources have already been used to reduce pressure on the E&G fund, including support for academic-unit transition costs and University Advancement expenses that otherwise would have been charged to E&G;

1.15 WHEREAS the University has also identified future liabilities associated with replacement of its enterprise resource planning system and approximately $33.2 million in debt associated with the White Stag building, with anticipated sale proceeds expected to offset some or all of the latter obligation;

1.16 WHEREAS, subject to maintaining prudent reserves for these identified liabilities, temporarily redirecting available Presidential Initiative Fund resources and future Internal Bank earnings toward E&G stabilization could reduce the need for permanent academic reductions;

1.17 WHEREAS UO ended FY26 with an E&G ending fund balance of approximately $123.9 million, equivalent to approximately 9.4 weeks of expenditures, compared with a ten-year average of approximately 7.7 weeks;

1.18 WHEREAS maintaining approximately eight weeks of E&G reserves would require roughly $108 million, potentially making approximately $16 million available as one-time bridge funding during the current fiscal transition, allowing attrition efforts to reduce subsequent year deficits;

1.19 WHEREAS temporary use of prudent reserves can allow the University to phase structural adjustments over time rather than making immediate and irreversible reductions to academic programs;

1.20 WHEREAS the University receives substantial revenues associated with its name, trademarks, merchandise, licensing, events, philanthropy, auxiliary operations, and other institutionally generated activities;

1.21 WHEREAS these revenue streams should be reviewed to determine whether a greater share can reasonably support the University’s core academic mission and E&G fund;

1.22 WHEREAS continuing changes in intercollegiate athletics, including NCAA governance, athlete compensation, conference structures, media revenues, and institutional financial obligations, warrant renewed examination of the financial relationship between the University and Intercollegiate Athletics;

1.23 WHEREAS the October 28, 2026, Preliminary Proposal of Academic Modification indicates that President Karl Scholz and Provost Chris Long adopted Enterprise Level resources to manage projected deficits, including a significant portion of Internal Bank earnings;

1.24 WHEREAS greater transparency concerning E&G transfers, administrative expenditures, Foundation assessments, Internal Bank resources, Presidential Initiative Fund balances, and other flexible revenues is necessary for the University community to evaluate whether proposed academic reductions are unavoidable.

Section II: 

2.1 THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the University of Oregon Senate urges UO President Karl Scholz to use all powers of the Office of the President to continue to probe all reasonable alternatives, not limited to those proposed here and via campus stakeholders, to reduce the impacts of the FY27 and multi-year budget shortfall on academic programs, faculty, instructional capacity, research, graduate education, and student-facing academic services by prioritizing viable university-wide alternatives before implementing further permanent academic reductions; and

2.2 THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the University Senate urges the President to offer early retirement incentives, where possible, over layoffs for any impacted personnel groups; and 

2.3 THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the University Senate urges the President to reduce discretionary E&G transfers to capital, Plant Fund, and Internal Bank purposes, while maintaining necessary debt service, prudent state matching commitments, life-safety expenditures, and other demonstrably unavoidable obligations; and

2.4 THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the University Senate urges the President to subject new capital commitments, project scope expansions, centrally financed cost overruns, and E&G backstops for incomplete external financing to heightened review during the current budget crisis; and 

2.5 THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the University Senate urges the President to develop and implement a plan to reduce administrative expenditures toward levels comparable with appropriate public AAU peer institutions, with particular attention to expenditures classified as Institutional Management/Support.

2.6 THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the University Senate urges the President, in consultation with the UO Foundation, to redirect at least one percentage point of the existing 5 percent Foundation gift assessment, or increase that assessment and direct it toward the University’s core academic mission.

2.7 THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the University Senate urges the President to use available Presidential Initiative Fund resources to reduce pressure on the E&G fund while maintaining a reserve for clearly identified future liabilities.

2.8 THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the University Senate further urges that, for a temporary period of up to four fiscal years, Internal Bank earnings or interest-rate-spread revenues that would otherwise be added to the Presidential Initiatives Fund be directed toward E&G stabilization and preservation of the academic mission.

2.9 THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the University Senate urges the President to make prudent use of E&G reserves as temporary bridge funding, including consideration of approximately $16 million above an eight-week reserve level, in order to phase structural adjustments and reduce the need for immediate permanent academic cuts.

2.10 THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the University Senate urges the President to review revenues generated through UO trademarks, licensing, merchandise, ticketed university events, and other institutionally generated activities, and to identify opportunities to dedicate a greater share of net proceeds to the E&G fund and the core academic mission.

2.11 THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the University Senate urges the President to conduct a comprehensive review of the financial relationship between the University and Intercollegiate Athletics, including institutional subsidies, shared revenues, branding and licensing revenues, debt obligations, and opportunities for Athletics-related resources to contribute more directly to the University’s academic mission.

2.12 THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the University Senate urges the President to provide the Senate with sufficient financial information to evaluate these alternatives, including:

• transaction-level data on E&G transfers to capital, Plant Funds, and the Internal Bank

• comparative administrative-expenditure data using appropriate public AAU peers

• annual revenue and allocation data associated with the UO Foundation gift assessment

• annual revenue and allocation data on UO Foundation’s unallocated funds and their potential use for academic scholarships

• annual balances, earnings, commitments, and expenditures of the Presidential Initiatives Fund;

• estimates of other unrestricted or flexible institutional revenues potentially available for E&G stabilization   

 
2.13 THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the University Senate urges the President to report to the Senate prior to the end of Fall 2026, identifying which of these alternatives have been adopted, the estimated fiscal contribution of each, and the rationale for declining any substantial alternative before proceeding with additional permanent reductions to academic programs, faculty positions, or instructional capacity. 

2.14 THEREFORE BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED the University Senate affirms that the central principle guiding the University’s fiscal response should be that permanent reductions to the academic mission should occur only after reasonable, transparent, and institution-wide alternatives have been fully evaluated and pursued.