UConn Avery Point Could Close Under Republican Budget: UConn President, Malloy

GROTON, CT — Senate Republican President Pro Tempore Len Fasano said that UConn President Susan Herbst should resign if her first answer to budget reductions is to close campuses. Fasano’s comments came after Gov, Dannel Malloy and Herbst held a press conference and said the school’s Avery Point campus in Groton could potentially close if the Republican budget were approved as is.

“Over the years, President Herbst has shown an inability to properly manage UConn’s finances,” Fasano said. “She has tried to hand out raises at all levels at the same time she increased tuition – a move that resulted in the legislature for the first time in decades refusing to accept her proposed labor contracts.”

Fasano accused Herbst of spending lavishly on speakers, salaries presidential mansions and administrative bloat.

UConn officials have estimated the cuts at $309 million over two years while Republicans say the cuts are no more than $240 million, according to the Hartford Courant.

UConn spent more on administration than 71 other public research universities nationwide, according to a review of U.S. Department of Education data that was done in 2013. UConn spent about $50,000 on each student in the 2010-2011 school year and of that about $8,500 was for non-classroom administrative costs.

In a surprise move Republicans along with a handful of Democrats passed a Republican budget in the state legislature. Malloy has vowed to veto the budget and has criticized it on several occasions in recent days.

Herbst said at a Monday press conference that UConn has taken about $140 million in cuts over the years and is ready to absorb another $100 million cut that was included in the Democratic proposed budget, but it can’t handle the cuts in the Republican budget.

“A university just doesn’t snap back from enormous cuts, it plummets in the rankings and won’t recover for decades,” Herbst said.

Fasano said there are other answers to how UConn could absorb cuts.

“If UConn’s first decision when faced with these reductions is to target students and facilities like Avery Point, President Herbst should resign,” Fasano said. “That clearly is not the way to manage the nearly $1 billion provided in the state budget, not even including bonding, which passed the legislature with bipartisan support.”

Malloy said that one of the consistently good things people say about Connecticut is the high quality of its higher education system. Recently Electric Boat was awarded a $5 billion contract to build the next generation of submarines; something Malloy said he would want to see built in Connecticut instead of other states. In order for that to happen Connecticut needs to keep educating engineers and others.

“This is not the time to take UConn apart, to set it apart and to quite frankly lose all the momentum we have,” Malloy said.

State Sen. Heather Somers (R-Groton) also said that UConn has alternative ways to reduce administrative costs including new ways in the Republican budget.

“If reductions are not made to UConn, where does the governor and President Herbst propose the state cut instead,” Somers said. “Do they want to see devastating cuts hit k-12 education, the elderly and safety net services? Or do they think residents should be taxed more?”

Image via Pat Eaton-Robb/AP