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Show Today is Friday, April 10,2009 Breaking News HASS lacks research dollars, hit by cuts By J.P.RODRIGUEZ staff writer As a result of rising costs, fewer donations and a shrinking endowment, Shriners hospitals are considering closing a quarter of their facilities. Campus News Students lose their locks as part of Service Week. Page 3 www.utahstatesman.com Logan, Utah Utah State University USU President Stan Albrecht and Provost Raymond Coward met with faculty and staff from the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) to discuss how the college and university may be affected by the budget cuts. The meeting took place Thursday afternoon at the Eccles Science Learning Center. At the meeting, Albrecht explained what the budget cuts are going to be for USU's near future, and some of the things being done to lessen their impact on the university. "We are getting near where we need to be," Albrecht said. "We are putting in place things that would allow us to recover." He said the budget cuts will come in two stages. First there will be a cut of approximately $8 million, which is for the 2010 year, starting July 1. The cuts for the 2011 year will be more severe, he said. "There is almost $13 million that hangs on us, which starts the (fiscal) year a year from July 1," Albrecht said. The cuts combine to make almost a $21 million blow in the next two years, Albrecht said. Michael Kennedy, special assistant to the president for federal and state relations, said the goal of the university administration has been to make the shortage of funds less noticeable. "Much of our focus for this session was to minimize the impact of these budget cuts," Kennedy said. Kennedy said because the federal government does not have to balance a budget like states do, they can print money Speak U p "We are getting near where we need to be." -Stan Albrecht, President of USU and pass legislative action to help meet it, such as the stimulus package. Money from the USU PRESIDENT STAN ALBRECHT discusses the effects of budget cuts on the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences during a meeting in the Eccles Science Learning Center Thursday. CAMERON PETERSON photo package can come to USU in several ways, such as money put for education or research projects. "The saving grace is that in the interim, the federal stimulus package was passed," Albrecht said. "(The Legislature) was able to use part of that stimulus package and give us some of that money back." In the meantime, USU has taken several steps to meet these cuts. Albrecht said the first step was to eliminate vacant positions. He said they analyzed positions that needed to be filled and eliminated many of those. He said other steps included the furlough last month, which he said was difficult on the university community and HI See HASS, page 4 The one, the 'onlyesf, Kalai Features The Army RUTC takes professors for a ride above campus. Page 5 Sports USU's offensive line is getting into the groove, returning 10 players that saw playing time last season, •-, -.... Page 8 Almanac Today in History: In 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to "-'• Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by philanthropist and diplomat Henry Bergh, 54. Nine days later, the first effective anti-cruelty law in the U.S. was passed, allowing ASPCA to investigate complaints of animal cruelty and to make arrests. K A L A I PERFORMS live in theTSC Ballroom Thursday in a concert benefiting the Mali Rising Foundation, an organization that builds school in Mali, Africa. PETE PSM/THSUTH photo , Aggie Shuttle celebrates 850,000th rider By BECKA TURNER senior news writer Weather High: 54° Low: 35° Skies: Cloudy, chance of rain Saturday. Archives and breaking news always ready for you at www.utahstatesman.com - JORDAN EARLEY, BUSINESS AND MARKETING JUNIOR, is awarded Wednesday with a plaque by USU President Stan Albrecht for being the 850,000th rider on the Aggie Shuttle. Sft/AN FRANCOM photo Aggie Shuttles, a branch of the Parking and Transportation department, celebrated its 850,000th rider Wednesday. Jordan Earley, business and marketing junior, was greeted with cheers from a waiting crowd and USU President Stan Albrecht who presented Earley with a plaque, a pin and a $50 gift certificate to the USU Bookstore, said Lee Cannon, public relations for Auxiliary Services. "This is the weirdest thing that's happened to me all day," Earley said. "I didn't know they were yelling at me." Albrecht said, "Jordan is an example of how effective the shuttles can be." The university wanted to celebrate the shuttle service because of its efficiency and thought that promoting ridership was an effective way to do so, Cannon said. Fred Hunsaker, interim vice president, said, "We're gonna break a million. These buses are extremely efficient." Hunsaker said he expressed his gratitude for the bus system being an effective form of transportation in these trying economic times. "With the economy how it is, we really have an opportunity here. It's economically sound for you, it's economically sound for me and economically smart for the university," he said. The service is run on a low budget, with 70 percent of it coming from student fees. Cannon said. Alden Erickson, Aggie Shuttle supervisor, said, "The other 30 percent of the funding for the buses comes out of E&G (state) funds, from the state legislature, the ones that are getting cut now." Not only are the buses economically friendly, but they are environmentally friendly, too, Cannon said. "The CO emissions are drastically lower than diesel fuelf so this gives us an opportunity to get exposure to decreasing pollution," he said. ee BUS, page 3 |