By Ellie Amador
It seems we’re all looking for ways to do more with less—and the University of Tennessee is no exception.
Shaving a little here and cutting back there often can make a big difference. In the university’s case, that difference has totaled $45.8 million so far.
With the support of the UT Board of Trustees, employees submitted savings suggestions and campus budget planners and administrators worked to identify and implement 117 effectiveness and efficiency initiatives.
“It is our challenge to use resources in the most effective and efficient ways possible while meeting growing demands for greater access and accountability,” UT President Joe DiPietro said. “These are critical savings and are due to the hard work and commitment of all involved. I am proud of how far we have come to prepare for the challenges ahead.”
The UT Board of Trustees’ Committee on Effectiveness and Efficiency for the Future has been working with the campuses and institutes since September 2008 to establish an ongoing emphasis on practicing the most responsible stewardship of resources. Several of the initiatives underway were selected from more than 800 employee suggestions for ways to be more resourceful in their work areas.
Examples of these initiatives include energy efficiencies, staffing reductions, program consolidations, space uses, event cancellations, and travel reductions. A complete -listing is available at http://bot.tennessee.edu/committees/eef/index.html.
While these initiatives will not offset the effects of the end of federal stimulus funding on July 1, they have helped the university focus its budget on what is most important—-providing the highest quality education in Tennessee.
