University President

TO: The University Community

For some weeks now, I have wanted to write the university family to address the several issues and rumors surrounding the work of the Louisiana Postsecondary Education Review Commission (sometimes referred to as the Tucker Commission). Unfortunately, addressing this matter is very much like “picking up a porcupine.” One tries for the soft underbelly but gets mostly the sharp spines (sorry for the Montana metaphor).

The Postsecondary Education Review Commission was created by Act 309 of the 2009 Louisiana Legislature to study the governance, facilities, and funding operations at the state’s public two and four-year institutions and to provide a written report of findings and recommendations. This group is staffed by the Louisiana Board of Regents.

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TO: Faculty and Staff

FR: Stephen T. Hulbert, President

Nicholls State University Retention and Graduation Rates

Recent articles in the Times Picayune and USA Today have called attention to the 6-year graduation rates of Louisiana universities citing data collected by CABL and Education Trust. The articles also discuss the state’s newly proposed funding formula which incorporates graduation rates as major criterion for funding universities. Although the actual graduation rates cited vary by publication (See CABL vs. Education Trust) there is consistency in the fact that graduation rates for ALL Louisiana institutions (private and state supported) are below those of their peer institutions with the exception of Louisiana Tech. (See Appendix A)

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Welcome back to the campus for the 2009-2010 academic year. It is always exciting to see the university come alive each fall. But let’s be honest with each other, the past 9 months have been progressively challenging and painful for the Nicholls family. (more…)

Dear Members of the Nicholls Family:

Yesterday I provided you with what information I had available concerning the budget for fiscal year 2009-2010, which we officially begin today.  Later in the day, Dr. Randy Moffett provided me with the first set of figures indicating the scope of our budget cut, and I can now report that the reduction figure Dr. Moffett provided is approximately $3 million, or 8.6% of last year’s state funding.  Including our midyear budget reduction, the total reduction from the beginning of 2008-2009 is a little over $4.4 million or 12.3% of state funding.

We will now begin the allocation process for the new year.  However, most of the changes made as a result of the budget reductions will remain in place.  We have a commitment of $1.1 million to pay the faculty that were given a one year notice because their program was eliminated.  We plan to eliminate any furloughs mainly because Nicholls was the only institution in the system that did not have money last year to provide pay increases for faculty or staff.  Also, since everyone will be asked to do more, we do not want them to do it for less and in less time.  We also have areas such as insurance, contracts and utilities that will be increased without any increase in funding to cover them.
As we begin this new year, there are a few points I wish to address.  The first is that the process that we just went through was neither pleasant nor university-initiated, but it was something that we had to do in order to protect the integrity of Nicholls State University.  As a result, some campus offices today are staffed with fewer and different people than they were yesterday.  To those who are no longer with us, I offer them my sincere best wishes.  I also join the rest of the campus in thanking them for their dedicated service to Nicholls during their tenure.  We wish them well as they seek new opportunities.

To those who have moved to different positions on campus, I also wish you success in your new position.  While your former co-workers will miss you, you have an opportunity to continue making valuable contributions to our success in pursuing the educational mission of Nicholls State University.  I hope that you find satisfaction in your new role.

Finally, I want to stress that this is not a time for any of us to turn away from our commitment to this university.  While we do hear talk of additional cuts to higher education in the near future, we must go about our daily work in pursuit of excellence in educating our students and in serving our region.  I want you to know that my commitment to this university is just as strong and my hope for its future is just as positive as the day that I arrived and assumed its presidency six years ago.  While the challenges may be greater and the future somewhat uncertain, I want to join each of you in making Nicholls the best regional institution that it can possibly become.  We owe the students and the people of this region nothing less.

Stephen T. Hulbert
President