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Amid Concern for ‘Human Capital,’ Layoffs Likely

The first public forum on the University’s reaction to the national economic downturn drew about 400 people to Bailey Hall, where President David Skorton promised to protect Cornell’s “human capital” while making the cutbacks necessary for fiscal health. While acknowledging that layoffs are likely—and that some positions have already been eliminated due to state funding […]

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The first public forum on the University’s reaction to the national economic downturn drew about 400 people to Bailey Hall, where President David Skorton promised to protect Cornell’s “human capital” while making the cutbacks necessary for fiscal health. While acknowledging that layoffs are likely—and that some positions have already been eliminated due to state funding cuts —Skorton said the University is “going to be very, very aggressive” in trying to keep workers from losing their jobs.

A week earlier, Skorton had announced the first round of Cornell’s cost-cutting measures: a five-month “hiring pause” on non-professorial candidates from outside the University; a 90-day freeze on some construction projects, depending on their current status; and an intense, 45-day review of the University’s finances and potential for budgetary savings.

At the Bailey forum, held on November 5, Skorton noted that four income streams have been hardest hit by the current economic ills: New York State funding, federal research grants, the endowment, and the feasibility of increasing tuition. He pledged that Cornell would try to save money by improving inefficiency and stressed that the University must increase its revenue, promising to help faculty make more competitive grant proposals. “We cannot cut our way out of this dilemma,” he said. “We have to grow our way out.”

The University has established an online suggestion box and is encouraging students, staff, faculty, and alumni to make recommendations as to how Cornell can best weather the economic crisis.

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