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The university has a lot of recruits in progress, and many of them are on the bubble. They send their resumes because they hear that UK is on the move, and then they hear of a potential $50 million budget cut in the base allocation. Some of the university's people get nervous about even asking others to come to campus until the budget issue is resolved. Creating the impression that the university was only funded for one year of the business plan creates fear that the university will not recover from this for a long time because it cannot hire the people that are interested right now. Hopefully, the Governor and legislature will deal with the issue speedily.
The university's first priority for this session is operating dollars because that is what pays the salaries, hires the people, and does the things that need to be done to keep the fundamental operations on the move.
The second priority is construction because, as Mr. Hardymon has pointed out, that will be the long-term hindrance for the institution. Currently, the university has "Bucks for Brains" positions that cannot be filled because there is no research space for recruits to occupy. You cannot hire people without a startup package or without facilities.
The university needs the new Carol Martin Gatton building and another research building. A new research building will generate $54 million per year when it is built. The BBSRB building was constructed a few years ago, and it is generating approximately $23 million now. A research building is one of the best economic development moves the state can make.
The third priority for the university is "Bucks for Brains." It is a fascinating program that has served the university very well. Ideally, if you want to build research institutions and you have plenty of money, you should have a parallel track where you have funds such as "Bucks for Brains" available to bring in faculty. In parallel to that, you are making a commitment to space. In a state where you have to make choices, you have to have an alternating scheme. With the billion dollar campaign and the number of endowed positions created, the university has to have more space. If the "Bucks for Brains" program comes back and the state puts some money into it, the university needs some flexibility to use some of that money for capital. UK has requested funds for two buildings in this session.
President Todd concluded his budget remarks by stating that it is a challenging time. It happens every two years. The university received tremendous support during the last session, and it has a lot of positive support now. He said that he and his staff are talking to many legislators, and he will keep the Board informed.