Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Message from the President

Dear Colleagues, 

We are in a bit of a quiet period now with respect to the LSU transition. We continue to await updates regarding the requested fiscal audit and academic program review. We have notified SACSCOC that we plan to submit a proposal for a "Substantive Change" in our governance structure next spring. That process will involve building a comprehensive dossier (some of which can be repurposed from our recent reaffirmation of accreditation process) as well as a site visit during the upcoming academic year.

In the meantime, we continue to finalize our budget for the upcoming fiscal year that is aligned with revenues received during the past year ($85.5M) and that incorporates fixed costs such as utilities, insurance, and maintenance expenses into the budget. Though we have not yet received funds from the state to address our past debt, we anticipate that they will arrive soon, and we are tremendously grateful for the support of our legislators and our governor as well as the Board of Regents and Dr. Kim Hunter Reed, our Commissioner of Higher Education.

It is essential that we remain good fiscal stewards of the resources we have received as we take steps to improve our facilities and support the success and well-being of every student we admit. I am also looking forward to broadening our university community's understanding of our budget, as well as how finances in higher education work. To this end, I highly recommend a podcast by Future U - Higher Ed 101: College Budgets Explained. It does a terrific job of explaining some of the challenges many universities are facing at this moment in our history - as well as recommendations for strengthening our financial health. I hope you'll give it a listen if you have a bit of time, and I hope that you are having a productive summer.

With UNO Pride,

Kathy Johnson, Ph.D.
President
The University of New Orleans