Forsee calls for town hall budget meetings

MU will host the last meeting Monday, Dec. 9.

By Rachel Allred

Published Nov. 13, 2009

Budget plans and strains of the UM system will be the focus of a series of town hall meetings which are set to be held throughout the next few weeks.

UM system President Gary Forsee will be conducting a meeting on each of the four university campuses. The first town hall meeting will be held at UM-St. Louis on Nov. 17. The last meeting will be held Monday, Dec. 9 at MU.

Through an e-mail sent Nov. 6, Forsee invited all faculty, administrators and staff to attend and participate in the meetings.

"I want to be sure we have ample opportunity to engage in a discussion about balancing how we plan to deal with ongoing financial challenges with the important actions we need to focus on to ensure our continued strength for the next decade," Forsee said in the e-mail.

UM system spokeswoman Jennifer Hollingshead said Forsee and the chancellors of the various universities would be collaborating during the meetings to inform employees of rising issues.

"Each chancellor is hosting the town halls and will join the president in discussions with their campus communities about the challenges and opportunities facing the university in the coming years," Hollingshead said.

Forsee said there is a looming budget challenge facing the system, including possible adjustments to state funding, which will affect the budget in future years and various measures have been made to stay in control of the situation.

Despite challenging economic times, he said it is important for the UM system to keep a strong stance as an exemplary educational system.

"While the daily headlines continue to portray a struggling recovery on Main Street, I want us to focus on our role in the recovery of the economy and our continued importance to Missouri as the most significant force in higher education in our state," Forsee said.

Hollingshead said Forsee wants to keep faculty updated and give them an opportunity to share their input.

"The president invited faculty and staff to the meetings as a way to keep them informed of the continuing budget challenges while at the same time reminding and updating them on the initiatives and strategic priorities of the university over the course of the next several years," Hollingshead said. "The president is looking forward to hearing questions and comments from employees throughout the system during these meetings."

In his e-mail, Forsee told staff and faculty he looks forward to the discussions that will be held at the town hall meetings and wants faculty, staff and administrators to plan on attending.