President, provost name projects to receive strategic funding

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Several strategic initiatives will receive funding after President Michael H. Schill and Provost and Senior Vice President Jayanth Banavar approved a set of recommendations from the UO’s Budget Advisory Group last week.

Each year, the university allocates a small portion of the education and general fund budget for strategic investment. Deans and vice presidents across campus can submit proposals to tap the fund.

The provost appoints the Budget Advisory Group, made up of faculty, students and staff, including many members of the Senate Budget Committee, to provide advice and counsel on recommended investments.

This year’s Budget Advisory Group had 21 members. The group reviewed and discussed 28 proposals from 24 different UO units for the 2019-20 academic year. Proposals for ongoing funding totaled $4.15 million. Another $1.89 million of proposals requesting one-time funding were submitted.

The largest investment will go to Information Services toward improvements in institutional cybersecurity defense. The unit will receive $631,000 in recurring funding to improve technology systems from cyberattacks. The president and the provost also approved an additional $140,000 in one-time funds for immediate cybersecurity needs.

Other key initiatives that received ongoing funding are:

  • Operating funds for the new Black Cultural Center: $196,000.
  • An Information Services project to address web accessibility: $179,000.
  • A Human Resources compensation analyst position: $117,500.
  • A set of student food insecurity initiatives: $91,400.
  • An accessible education advisor: $80,000.
  • A position at the Career Center to oversee a new career services management tool designed to help connect students to potential employers and manage the way students seek future employment: $70,468.
  • Expanded capacity for women’s self-defense courses in the Department of Physical Education and Recreation: $35,000.
  • New I-9 software to assist Business Affairs with employment eligibility verification: $20,000.

In addition, the Budget Advisory Group’s recommendations include two other one-time-only expenditures:

  • To the School of Music and Dance for acquiring new instruments: $99,400.
  • To replace the EMU’s Carillon Bell system, allowing it to mark the time, play music, and sound an emergency warning to the community: $26,180.

For more information about the UO’s approach to strategic investments and the Budget Advisory Group process, visit the provost’s website.