CALS State of the College 12-9-2013

CALS Town Hall/State of the College: December 9, 2013

Kathryn J. Boor, Ph.D.The Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

The Relevance of CALS’ Land Grant Mission

Knowledge with public purpose

Food & EnergySystems

Environmental Sciences

Economic & Community Vitality Life Sciences

Sustainability

The new Warren Hall features state-of-the-art classrooms, sustainable design elements & comfortable new meeting spaces for students & faculty, many of which are available for naming

The New Warren Hall

Phase 1 of the $53M historic renovation completed this spring on the western wing of the building

Fernow now boasts an elevator, climate control & two new classrooms – including a modern glass & steel extension to the historic building

The New Fernow Hall

New sustainable design elements, including a rain garden to control storm water runoff & solar panels

CALS’ has invested $8M in a new dairy research barn to support NY’s dairy industry

Greenhouse & Dairy Investments

Ground was recently broken on $4.7M state-funded greenhouse renovation at NYSAES in Geneva

Campaign to endow the Cornell Dairy Fellows Program Excellence Fund has raised $1.8M so far

The building also boasts modern classrooms; state-of-the-art research & teaching laboratories, a pilot plant & testing facility; a new wine library & teaching winery; & a new Extension Conference Center

The New Stocking Hall

$105M renovation features a glass-fronted dairy plant to highlight transparency in food systems

Chobani announced a $1.5M gift to support training programs in dairy quality & innovation

Stocking Hall: The New Hub of Dairy Excellence in New York

Senator Schumer proposes Cornell as the national center of excellence for dairy foods safety & quality research & training

Wegmans is partnering with Cornell on an artisan cheese-making training program to build New York into an artisan cheese-making leader

A New Home for Communication

Communication has initiated a search for a senior-level faculty member who will be based at the Cornell Tech campus in New York City

The Department of Communication is moving from Kennedy Hall to a larger, more modern space on the fourth floor of Mann Library

Some of CALS Newest Faculty

Some of CALS Newest Faculty

Toby AultBrian Davis

Heather Huson

Melissa Warden

Faculty Renewal: Securing the Future of CALS

Recent Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellowships in CALS include:

• Geri Gay Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellowship in Communication, funded by Peggy Koenig ’78

• Norm R. Scott Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellowship in Biological & Environmental Engineering, funded by Martin Tang ’70

• St. John Family Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellowship in Dairy Cattle Management, funded by Ron St. John ’68 & Marcia St. John

• Zaitz Family Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellowship in Agricultural Finance & Business, funded by Benjamin Zaitz ’77 & family

• Mueller Family Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellowship in Farm Business Management, funded by George Mueller ’54 & family

• CoBank/Farm Credit East Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellowship in Economics & Management of Agricultural Production Sustainability, funded by Sheldon Brown ’68, CoBank & Farm Credit East

• Robert F. Schumann Faculty Fellowship in Conservation Science, funded by the estate of Robert F. Schumann

Margaret Ann Bollmeier is a career development professional with more than 20 years experience in a variety of institutional settings

CALS New Associate Dean for Alumni Affairs & Development

She currently serves as Executive Director of the Curry School of Education Foundation at the University of Virginia – She will begin work in CALS in late December

Headed by Prabhu Pingali, former World Bank economist & deputy director of agricultural development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Formed through a $25M endowment from the Tata Trusts to link Cornell experts with Indian colleagues & organizations to reduce poverty & malnutrition while protecting environmental, economic & human health in rural India

Tata-Cornell Agriculture & Nutrition Institute (TCi)

Julie Suarez, the newly appointed CALS Assistant Dean of Governmental & Community Relations

Leadership Transitions in CALS

Chris Barrett named the new David J. Nolan Director of the Dyson School

Helene Dillard, CALS Associate Dean & Director of CCE, leaving for deanship at UC Davis after 30-year Cornell career

Federal Funding in Decline Nationally

Federal Funding in Decline in CALS

An August 2013 Science Magazine editorial cited a 26% decline in federal USDA spending for agriculture & food research over the past decade

New York State Allocations Down 28.6%

FY 07/08 FY 08/09 FY 09/10 FY 10/11 FY 11/12 FY 12/130

10,000,000

20,000,000

30,000,000

40,000,000

50,000,000

60,000,000

70,000,000

NYS allocations to CALS since FY 07/08

A New Model is Needed for Applied Agricultural Research

It is the farmers & food producers of New York who have the most to lose if CALS becomes unable to provide the innovation needed to meet their evolving needs & help them to grow & compete

We believe private stakeholders have a larger role to play in partnering with the state to directly support applied agricultural research at Cornell

Budget Update: CALS Total Revenue from All Sources

Revenue Source FY 11/12 Actual FY 12/13 Actual FY 13/14 Budget

Tuition & Fees 130,027,848 138,395,110 144,526,937

Sponsored 101,721,164 103,673,147 95,787,144

State Appropriations 47,609,562 47,428,219 57,379,121

Other Sources 63,987,668 52,993,266 50,450,218

Investment Income 13,433,606 14,302,612 14,906,226

Gifts 11,693,932 16,829,748 14,833,585

Federal Appropriations 11,342,186 10,943,501 12,268,545

Grand Total 379,815,966

384,565,603

390,151,776

FY 11/12 FY 12/13 FY 13/14Final

ResultsFinal

ResultsFinal

Results

Revenues $206,456,858 $218,118,194 $226,806,201

Expenses $206,368,313 $218,067,545 $226,806,201

Total Net Results $88,545 $50,649 $0

We predict a balanced budget this year (FY14) with the Provost’s Subvention

Budget Update: CALS Core Budget Results*

*Excludes Department Funds, Federal Appropriations, Restricted Gifts, Contracts & Grants

Budget Update: Subventions Across Cornell

College FY 13/14 Provost’s Subvention Subvention % of Total Expenditures

CALS $33,890,000* 8.34%

Arch., Art & Planning $11,800,000 24.21%

Arts & Sciences $71,000,000 17.22%

CIS $2,445,000 6.91%

Engineering $14,462,000 5.78%

Hotel School $9,231,000 10.33%

Human Ecology $13,808,000 12.20%

ILR School $9,272,000 12.04%

Johnson School $8,615,000 9.57%

Law School $4,206,000 8.29%

Vet School $4,113,000 3.01%

*CALS figure is current & includes subventions to CALS affiliates, i.e., Lab of O, Plantations, etc. All others are estimates based on most recent data shared by the university

Addressing Deficits

What are the university & college doing to proactively address budgets in deficit?

• Provost’s subventions are currently holding colleges harmless from the deficits resulting from the new budget model

• The Provost has promised to share the amounts of the FY15 subventions by late this semester; the amounts are unknown for all colleges

• The university could elect to continue to fully fund deficits

• If that is not the case, the amount of the subvention will determine the scope & scale of measures that must be taken to address the shortfall

• These may include reductions in funding to capital improvements & faculty hiring, the use of reserves as bridge funding, & the reevaluation of funding to departments & other expenditures

• We will notify departments of the budget outlook for FY15 when the information becomes available

CALS Faculty Early Retirement Initiative (CFRI)

The college has developed a new CALS Faculty Early Retirement Incentive (CFRI) program in the context of current budgetary pressures

• Eligible to CALS tenured associate & full professors aged 62 or older, with 10 or more years of service on or before 6/30/14, & who are on a core-funded line in a benefits eligible position

• Faculty provided a 6-month paid administrative leave from 7/1/14 thru 12/1/14, including normal retirement contributions

• Faculty will receive a lump sum payment equivalent to 6 months of annualized salary on 1/15/15, including normal retirement contributions

• Faculty will also be eligible to receive an additional payment equal to 30 days accrued vacation based upon their accrual balances

• Faculty in a phased or other retirement agreement are not eligible

• Applications will be accepted from 2/3/14 thru 3/15/14 & will be prioritized in the order they are received

• First info session from 9-10 a.m. on 12/10 in 102 Mann Library

Departments & the Budget Model

How much of the budget model will apply to departments? Is it binding? Will faculty have a vote?

• The Allocated Costs bills will not be levied to departments by the university

• CALS does not plan to break out Allocated Costs as charges to individual departments

• However, CALS will communicate costs to units to inform programmatic decisions

• The college will work with units to determine how activities will be supported

• The budget model is binding. Faculty do not have a vote, but have had & will continue to have the opportunity to provide their input

The Importance of Undergraduate Teaching

Does the budget model favor undergraduate teaching at the expense of other core activities, such as graduate education, research & extension?

• Undergraduate education is the predominant source of revenue for CALS & Cornell

• However, graduate education, research & extension are equally vital components of CALS’ & the university’s Land Grant Mission

• The new budget model does not seek to diminish the importance of these activities in favor of undergraduate education, but will re-distribute tuition dollars equitably across all colleges responsible for teaching undergraduates at Cornell

Student-based Appropriation

$79M (65% of total)

Land Grant Appropriation

$42M (35% of total)

Cornell Pools NYS Appropriations

$121M

Tuition Pool

Tubs Colleges

CALS & ContractColleges

Endowed Colleges

“True-up” -$25M

Distribution of State Appropriation in the New Budget Model*

*Using FY12/13 Appropriation to Illustrate

The Importance of Undergraduate Teaching

Does the budget model favor undergraduate teaching at the expense of other core activities, such as graduate education, research & extension?

• In FY12/13, CALS received $57M in state appropriations

• Using the state’s 65%-35% allocation formula, $37M of this funding was student-based and $20M was for Land Grant programming

• However, CALS estimates it spent $40M on Land Grant activity in FY12/13

• Thus, the college subsidizes Land Grant activities with student-based state appropriations

• To the extent that the tuition “true-up” reduces the amount of total state dollars returned to CALS, the new budget model does reduce funds available for other functions

• CALS must evaluate support for all of our functions to establish for ourselves an appropriate relationship among allocations for teaching, research & extension within the confines of the revenue structure

Teaching, Research & Extension Are Essential to CALS’ Mission

Knowledge with public purpose

Food & EnergySystems

Environmental Sciences

Economic & Community Vitality Life Sciences

Sustainability

Graduate Teaching Assistantship Allocations

What are the process & polices used to assign graduate TA support to departments?

• The college policy for allocating graduate assistantships is based on recommendations received from a faculty committee led by Don Viands

• The college leadership evaluates a variety of departmental teaching indicators, metrics on graduate student quality & other data

• These data inform decisions but do not direct them

• Ultimately, the college leadership makes determinations based upon a formula that is modified by the projected TA need within a department relative to similar needs elsewhere in the college

• Shrinking resources for TA-ships have inhibited our ability to provide extra lines, even when departments make a strong case for need

• We do not currently foresee the budget model driving changes in the TA allocation policy. However, the policy and each department’s needs are evaluated each year

Visiting Scholars

There are many questions surrounding the fee policy for visiting scholars under the new budget model

• The fees for visiting scholars & fellows do not apply to visiting professorial faculty

• The visitor fee is explicitly waived for faculty holding appointments at other universities in order to preserve & promote the unique educational & collaborative research opportunities that occur when such faculty visit

• Fees for visiting scholars & fellows apply primarily to visiting graduate students

• Since Cornell graduate students cannot access library & other resources without being registered or paying for services, it is not fair or reasonable to subsidize such access for visiting students

Grounds & Facilities Maintenance

Have any outlying facilities been closed?

• CALS is selling the lakefront property & adjoining lots at the Willsboro Research Farm & will close the Schwardt Lab on Turkey Hill

• CALS is working with a stakeholder group to share costs of running the Hudson Valley Lab

• “Building CALS” webpage: http://cals.cornell.edu/about/leadership/ofa/cpfs/building-cals/

• “Grounds maintenance” costs, such as mowing the grass, are allocated in the budget model via head count & distributed to all the colleges through cost allocation

• CALS has objected to this metric, since it includes personnel in off-campus locations (e.g., Geneva) where the college pays for grounds crews – As a result, the university is revisiting this portion of the model

• “Facilities” or “critical maintenance” funding for roof repairs, etc., is provided by the SUNY Construction Fund & distributed to the contract colleges

Facilities & Administrative Cost Recovery

Will units be required to fill the gap on grants that pay less than the full 55% F&A rate charged by Cornell?

• Under the new model, the college is not required by the university to fill this gap

• However, 2% of all F&A recovery will be returned directly to the department on behalf of the PI on any grant receiving the full rate, defined in the model as the full federal rate

• The university charges full research administration costs to CALS based on expenditures & regardless of whether CALS receives the full F&A rate

• There will be no exemptions by the university from this assessment; thus, grants with limited or no F&A recovery cost CALS money

• The new budget model puts the responsibility for recovering F&A costs squarely on the shoulders of the units conducting the research

The Future of Subsidized Units

Does the budget model favor units that are self-sustaining over units that require subsidies to operate, regardless of their other contributions to Cornell?

• Resources are significantly constrained

• Difficult funding allocation decisions lie ahead; in some situations these decisions may require hard choices

• The university & trustees point to our unrestricted reserves as a source of funding to bridge revenue shortfalls

• Once the budget model is fully implemented, discussions must ensue over which programs & units should be cross-subsidized from other sources, which programs could generate additional resources, & which programs can no longer be sustained

• These discussions must occur at all levels of Cornell, within programs & departments, across colleges & throughout the entire university

CALS Strategic Planning Process

The decisions we make during this important period of transition will have profound implications for the excellence of CALS for years to come

• We have embarked on a strategic planning process that will help us make the best decisions possible

• A Strategic Planning Coordinating Committee has been formed & tasked with reexamining CALS’ current focal areas & strategic priorities, as well as identifying new strategic opportunities for the college

• In spring, 2014, the committee will be expanded to focus on developing a detailed plan

• They will also devise & implement a method for engaging the entire CALS community in the strategic planning process

• We aim to have our new strategic plan completed by the summer of 2014

Questions?