Pennington breathes a sigh of relief following budget cuts

Officials with the world-renowned Pennington Biomedical Research Center went into the spring legislative session fearing the worst. The institution was already reeling from midyear and previous-year budget cuts, and officials weren’t sure what they would do if more were to come. But since the new fiscal year began last week, they’ve been breathing a sigh of relief. Though they had to make cuts—including laying off three full-time, administrative employees—they haven’t had to lay off any researchers or cut any programs. “The good news is that we managed it and that the institution is moving forward,” says Bill Silvia, president of the Pennington Medical Foundation, which oversees the original donation and is dedicated to buildings and facilities. “We have very, very tight belts right now and it’s not optimum, but we’re continuing to move forward,” he says. Pennington received $645,000 less from the state for the 2012-13 fiscal year than it did the previous year, which had a ripple effect on the grant dollars it was able to leverage. That left the institution with a $2.1 million shortfall for the year. Officials plugged the gap by cutting nearly $1 million in expenses, including $350,000 in administrative positions and $600,000 by adjusting benefits and deferring maintenance on equipment. On the revenue side, officials carried forward some existing grant funds that have not yet been spent, and also projected some grants that are expected but have not officially been awarded. Read a recent Business Report cover story on the growing pains Pennington is working through here. —Stephanie Riegel