LSU provost says cuts are a threat, but there’s hope

Possible state budget cuts remain a serious threat to LSU’s flagship campus, but there’s still hope of heading off the damage, LSU Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost John “Jack” Hamilton says. “If I’m here for any reason today at all, it’s to help the governor make the case that LSU needs help and is worth saving,” Hamilton told the Baton Rouge Press Club today. Hamilton says Gov. Bobby Jindal and his staff are looking for creative solutions, although he didn’t say what some of the solutions might be. Jindal says state budget cuts to higher education might be less than 10%, smaller than many officials had feared. But even a 10% cut to LSU’s general fund outlay, for example, could cost LSU over $20 million in what Hamilton calls “direct student impact.” A DSI hit over $20 million could leave the state with “an insignificant university with a good football team,” Hamilton says. Even if funding remains the same, he says, LSU would still be looking at a $10 million negative impact because of unfunded mandates. A DSI hit between $10 million and $20 million would require eliminating academic programs and departments and cutting academic support services for students, and it would entail the deterioration of campus facilities and infrastructure. Hamilton made his remarks next to 140 empty chairs, meant to symbolize 140 faculty positions eliminated since budget cutting began two years ago. The cuts to LSU’s Baton Rouge campus since that time total $45 million. —David Jacobs