As universities across the state face serious shortfalls in their budgets, the president of Illinois State University says his institution is preparing to take “proactive steps” to avoid a similar fate.
Aondover Tarhule said current fiscal projections in front of university administrators show a need for the university to “streamline operations as much as possible.”
“The challenge that a lot of institutions are experiencing is that expenses are outpacing revenues. As I look ahead, it’s clear to me that we, too, will eventually get there if we don’t change some of the things we do,” Tarhule said Thursday morning in an interview for WGLT’s Sound Ideas. “I think these decisions are always very difficult; they’re always very painful. But my messaging… is that if we can take these measures, these proactive steps now, we can avoid what we’re seeing ahead.”
Asked whether those measures included things like staff or faculty layoffs, seen most recently at Western Illinois University, Tarhule said the university was “nowhere near” making those kinds of decisions and is, instead, hoping to avoid them altogether by working ahead of time.
“Those things happen when you don’t take actions early enough or put into place strategies early enough to forestall that. Having to do that — you’re in a crisis. We’re not yet in a crisis,” he said. “We are not there and I want to make sure we don’t get there. The actions we’re going to take are not going to be without pain, but they are designed to make sure we avoid an even bigger pain than the types of extreme actions we’re seeing at other institutions.”
Hours after his WGLT interview, Tarhule sent a campuswide email announcing a "multifaceted approach" to avoid a deficit. The email did not reveal what that plan would entail, though it's dubbed Resilience, Innovation, Sustainability, and Excellence, or RISE.
"In the coming days, I will meet with campus leadership teams to discuss how RISE, in tandem with our strategic plan, will help Illinois State navigate the challenging landscape," Tarhule said. The president will deliver his State of the University address Sept. 19.
Tarhule added the funding crisis facing higher education expands beyond Illinois and many institutions, to differing extents, have tried to mitigate the disparities by raising student tuition and fees. ISU has acted similarly in the past year, raising costs for the average first-year undergraduate student by about $500 more per year, raising fees by 3.6% and housing costs by 3.5%. In January.
ISU’s board of trustees also approved setting differential tuition rates for certain programs that cost more to offer, putting tuition about 15% higher for degree programs within the Mennonite College of Nursing, College of Business and forthcoming College of Engineering.
“Where [higher education has] gotten is to the point where we’ve reached the limit of how much tuition and fees parents and students are willing to pay,” Tarhule said. “If you think about institutions that are closing, you might ask, ‘Why don’t they raise tuition and fees to pay their expenses?’ They can’t because parents and students no longer want to pay or can longer afford to pay. More and more institutions are finding themselves in this position and, unfortunately, if we don't take some steps proactively and very decisively, we might find ourselves in the same situation — and I would like to avoid that.”
Among the administrators overseeing ISU’s financial matters is interim Vice President for Finance and Planning Daniel Petree; the position is one of several remaining administrative jobs still filled by an interim appointee, including that of director of athletics, currently filled by Jeri Beggs.
Committees that will guide two national searches for each of those positions are currently in the process of being formed; Tarhule said he hopes to have a permanent AD named by the end of 2024 and working in January. Both of the searches are slated to launch later this month.
'Against hate in all of its ramifications'
Following a demonstration of dozens of students on ISU’s Quad on Wednesday evening that criticized him for not issuing a public statement regarding an alleged hate crime in late August, Tarhule said he refrained from doing so because an investigation by ISU police remains ongoing.
“In my opinion, it’s premature to report until we know what has happened,” he said. “I think it’s very important that the president speaks the facts; I think it undermines the integrity of the office and even the cause which we are trying to address if, every time you hear an allegation, you jump up before you even know what the facts are.”
ISU police chief Aaron Woodruff told WGLT on Thursday the case was still actively being investigated, though difficulties identifying potential suspects have persisted thus far.
"We've been in touch, the chief equity and inclusion officer (Byron Craig) has been all along communicating with the individuals involved in this, including those who’ve alleged the issue.” Tarhule said, adding that both he and Craig also are in the process of working on a forthcoming campaign aimed at further promoting inclusion on ISU’s campus.
“I understand the anxieties that different groups and demographics feel, and my hope is that one day we live in a society, and in particular a university, where nobody has to feel those kinds of anxieties, where nobody questions the degree to which they belong,” he said. “But having said that, I think there’s always going to be a difference between how quickly people want you to react versus when you have enough information that makes you feel comfortable that you are speaking from a position of fact.”
Craig said in an email to WGLT on Friday afternoon that he'd reached out to Queer Coalition and the President's Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council.
"I've let them know we hear their concerns," Craig said, adding he's planning two events called 'ISU in Conversation' to discuss "issues important to their well-being and belonging." One will be held for students on Sept. 17 and one will be held for faculty and staff on Sept. 18. Both will be from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Office of International Engagement at Fell Hall.
Demonstrators at the Young Democratic Socialist of America's-sponsored March for LGBTQ+ Safety told reporters for ISU's student media outlet The Vidette they wanted to see the president put "out a statement that LGBTQ+ students should feel safe on campus and a plan on how they are going to make that happen."
Speaking Thursday, Tarhule said he hoped it is clear that, both as ISU’s president and as a matter of personal principle, he is “against hate in all of its ramifications, wherever it appears, in whatever form it appears.”
