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A Message from the Chancellor
August 2009
Friends,
In President Obama’s address at Macomb Community College
this month, he recognized that "Time and again, when we have placed
our bet for the future on education, we have prospered as a result – by
tapping the incredible innovative and generative potential of a
skilled American workforce.”
This national perspective applies directly to Louisiana’s
budget cuts and, more specifically, to UNO’s future, our
potential and our best hope for recovery.
The Governor and Legislature directed UNO to reduce our budget
substantially while continuing to serve our mission. As an
institution significantly credited with the development of the
middle-class in New Orleans, we continue to question the wisdom
of program funding reductions. Part of our mission is to educate
the population of this great city, and cutting funding that directly
impacts the viability of middle-class workers seems counter intuitive.
In response, UNO has a plan to continue our work toward becoming
one of the nation’s premier urban research universities in
the mold of an institution like UCLA.
Though institutions nationally face similar budgetary blows, it
is safe to say that the past four years amplifies our challenge.
Katrina devastated our city, damaged our campus and our student
population. While UNO has made a near complete recovery,
we have been working to rebuild for four years now and of any university
in Louisiana, we are ready to move forward simply because we have
had considerable practice in overcoming great odds.
UNO may serve as a role model for higher education across the
country. There is much to do.
We have restructured the non-academic, administrative side of
the University along a more corporate model, eliminating layers
of middle and upper management. The remaining leaders will rethink
and re-program everything they do. In order to advance the University
and achieve our vision in these increasingly difficult economic
times, we will create new opportunities. We will create new products
and offerings to generate additional earnings while meeting the
needs of the communities we serve. We will re-organize income-generating
units and replicate these accomplishments for the entire University.
Our Foundation will increase fundraising to unprecedented levels.
We will make alumni our greatest asset in strengthening our efforts
with the Legislature and become the backbone of our fundraising
initiatives. Now more than ever, higher education needs alumni
support.
Large portions of our historical student base relocated to St.
Tammany Parish after Katrina. We will follow them. We will offer
additional courses on the North Shore, providing residents there
with the opportunity to get an education second to none.
Institutions that surmount these challenging times will follow
our lead in focusing academic programs and scarce resources behind
areas that address student needs and interest. We will build on
our successes and serve as a major force in the economic, social
and cultural development of New Orleans.
But developing tomorrow’s leaders requires a rich student
experience: We will have an NCAA Division I athletic program without
using general fund dollars- likely the leanest, meanest athletic
program in the country, but one growing its successes. We
will continue to provide a top-notch college experience for students
from both near and far. As graduates complete their years
at UNO, they will look back on time well spent in a great city,
earning an excellent education and having a rich college experience. UNO
will not lose sight of our commitment to students, regardless of
the economic challenges we face.
We will use the current challenge and those that may come over
the next few years to rekindle the never-give-up spirit
of UNO’s founding fathers and mothers. We will continue to
do more with less.
Given the current economic, leadership and employment challenges
blighting our country, education has never been more relevant,
nor more under siege.
American Council on Education President Molly Corbett Broad warns “if
access and affordability are limited, an entire generation of students
could be lost when our country needs them most.” We hope
that other institutions will be able to meet the challenges head
on and look to UNO as a model.
Sincerely,

Timothy P. Ryan
Chancellor |