After years of operating at a budgetary deficit, MSU Texas is in the midst of a financial struggle to balance the budget while juggling concerns in enrollment and retention.
MSU President Stacia Haynie said the situation is fluid from day to day, making it difficult to give a specific number.
Since MSU was staring at starting 2024 with at least $7 million of budgetary shortfall, the university took actions to lower that number.
The school announced last year that the print shop, testing center and Vinson Health Center would be closing. Those closures cut 10 university employees their jobs.
Haynie said MSU has been able to cut about half the deficit so far.
“We began the year with a 3.6 million dollar deficit in our budget. It’s more than double that, but we’ve resolved 50% of that problem. So we feel good moving forward, but we’re not yet at a space where we’ve appropriately adjusted the budget to reflect the financial reality of the campus,” Haynie said.
Haynie added that the cutting process has focused on preserving positions and services that bring students to the university and enable them to do well, focus points that administrators call access and success.
“One of the things that we’ve done is look at the staffing all across campus and where we have available vacancies where again we’re able to provide access and success, we have eliminated those positions,” Haynie said.
Other positions across campus have been eliminated or consolidated. Custodial staff have had some positions removed, while some staff members have been moved to residence halls to fill vacancies.
Haynie said her office now takes its own trash to a central location to reduce the workload for custodial staff.
“Well, we take our trash out. And that’s, again, something that we recognize that we’re all going to need to be more attentive to ensure that we make the adjustments necessary,” Haynie said.
Haynie is leading the charge for the university on correcting the deficit. When she assumed the office of president in August, she also took on the role of interim vice president of finance and administration.
The position is one that Haynie said she hopes not to occupy long-term.
“Ultimately I do desperately want to fire myself so I will be working toward doing that in the upcoming fiscal year. I think it will be beneficial for the university to be positioned really well when we’re trying to hire somebody in the position, so that’s certainly the goal for the next year,” Haynie said.
Solving the school’s financial issues could make the vice president of finance and administration position more enticing to potential candidates once Haynie vacates the position.
In the meantime, MSU is leaning partially on Texas Tech for help.
Aid from the Texas Tech University System has come largely in the form of advising. TTUS officials in areas like finance and law have helped MSU institute better financial practices, reviewed contracts for potential cuts and discussed ways to bring more resources to campus.
“They have been really incredible partners, I’ve really been amazed, and again coming from a system that did not function in the same way, feel really fortunate to be a part of the Texas Tech University System,” Haynie said.
Haynie was firm that current discussions on budget cuts are not focused on cutting majors, although she said administrators have to constantly consider which majors are successful and which might need to be examined or reinvented.
“That’s not, and I don’t want it to be seen as, related to some sort of budget challenge,” Haynie said, adding, “I appreciate the idea that people are concerned, “Oh, we’re going to cut majors.” That’s not the conversation. The conversation is, if students are not attracted to a particular major, why is that?”
Instead, Haynie said much of the budget efforts are focused on bringing in more philanthropic dollars from alumni and area stakeholders.
“Our alumni, like me, who came here when it was much less expensive realize, like me, that we have a responsibility to support those students who are here at MSU today,” Haynie said.
Haynie will continue to work on solving the budget, a issue she said is personal to her because of how much she cares about MSU.
“I am here to build a bigger, better, stronger MSU. It’s personal for me, as you’ve heard me say many times. I ran to this situation because I care very deeply and very passionately about this place. It is home, this is family,” she said.
