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Statewide
Budget Cuts Begin throughout State
When former governor James Gilmore announced that budgets would need to be
cut 2 percent, many of Virginia's public colleges and universities began to take
a close look at ways to trim their budgets. Gov. Mark Warner's announcement that
3 percent budget cuts would be needed this fiscal year has caused the institutions
to look even closer. The Daily Progress (Charlottesville) reported in January
that the 3 percent cut will cause the University of Virginia (UVA) to lose $4.8
million, which it will cut through that attrition and a hiring freeze trying to
avoid layoffs. The College of William and Mary also will freeze hiring, according
to the Daily Press (Hampton Roads). That newspaper also reported that Christopher
Newport University has laid off about 130 of its 170 part-time adjunct faculty
members, will freeze hiring and travel, and probably lay off some full-time faculty
members in June. Old Dominion University also plans to cut the number of full-time
positions with a hiring freeze and rely more on adjuncts to take up the slack,
reported the Virginian Pilot in January. The Richmond Times Dispatch
reported in February that Virginia Tech would end up, making the largest cuts
in the state: $5.6 million from the university and $1.8 million from its cooperative
extension and agriculture programs. Tech's president, Charles Steger, says that
the cuts can be absorbed centrally without affecting college or divisions budgets.
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