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2009 Fall Convocation Speech - Furloughs

Speech Segments

  1. Introduction and Appreciation
  2. Achievements: Year in Review
  3. Furloughs
  4. Quick Wins
  5. Diversity
  6. Community Needs
  7. Organizational Structure
  8. Growth
  9. Planning and Vision
  10. Cofrin Gift
  11. Budget Recovery
  12. Conclusion

Fall 2009 Convocation Video

‘Furloughs’ Video Transcript

I’m very proud of the accomplishments that all of you contributed to. It is truly impressive, and I congratulate you.

But that brings me to the present. What is the hottest topic here on campus during the summer? Furloughs. I didn’t know whether to drop the ‘F’ word or not here, but I did. I thought, lets get it out on the table.

I learned yesterday that some people blame me for furloughs. And that’s OK. I’m used to being blamed for a lot of things and I’m the cause of a lot of things and probably earn a lot of the blame. But I didn’t do furloughs.

But seriously, and it is a serious topic, I want to thank you and compliment you for the way you handled this. It is very disappointing and I know that it’s a great disappointment for you. It’s frustrating and it creates a situation where there’s loss of income. And I am so sorry that you have to experience that.

I know it’s difficult, but we’ll work through that. And I could try to say things to make you feel better, and it might help a little bit, but it is regretful, but the world is in a very difficult situation right now. And, again, thank you for how you’ve handled that.

What else though should we expect this year. It’s not all going to be furloughs and budget cuts.

Let me tell you how I’m getting started with this. One of the things I wanted to give you a hint of is how I work and how I will be approaching things.

You might be able to understand how unusual the summer has been for me. Coming from a previous presidency where I was fully engaged, I had been there a long time, I knew how everything worked, I knew everybody on campus, knew how to get things done. And I came here on June 1, and although I’ve been very busy on campus and in the community, starting as chancellor here at a time when two of the most important groups are not as fully engaged as they are the rest of the year, makes it difficult to really get the start that a new chancellor would like to get.

So, you can’t fully engage without the faculty and the students here. So it’s been a little unusual for me because I came in ready to go, and I’ve found myself saying to myself—which I do a lot, I talk to myself quite a bit—“how am I supposed to make progress on these things when I can’t talk to the faculty and I don’t know what the students feel about it?” That’s an important part of moving forward with important things. So, some of the things I would have liked to have done, I can now do because you all are here, and I am so happy about that.

Some decisions require discussion, whether on a broad scale or sometimes on a very focused basis. And it’s difficult to ascertain sensitivities. People have been very good about trying to explain things to me and tell me what I should be sensitive to, but it’s not like being able to talk broadly to the faculty and the students about certain things.

So, I do not yet have the full perspective. But I cannot express to you how glad I am that you are all back today.