orumom Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=9364290 Letter to the ORU Family Oral Roberts University has come many miles in the last year. We have made progress in key areas to keep the mission of the university alive, but there are still tough decisions that have to be made to ensure we continue to provide a quality, whole-person education for our students. The university is announcing a reduction in force of approximately 100 people in early 2009 as we continue to seek ways to reduce costs. Our annual budget must be balanced, and reducing costs through a re-organization is a necessary step. We are also pursuing options to enhance revenue, including increasing donor support and student enrollment. We realize the impact this decision has on each of our employees and want to do what we can to help everyone move forward. The university plans to offer job placement support for employees who will be affected by the reduction. We are currently involved in a review and evaluation process to determine departments, positions, and individuals that will be included in the reduction. Once this process is complete, ORU will provide notice in mid-January, 2009 to the employees included in the work force reduction. These employees will continue to be employed by ORU for 60 days following receipt of this notification. Accordingly, no individual’s employment at ORU will terminate as the result of the reduction in force until mid-March, 2009. We are committed to the long-term restoration of fiscal soundness. Like any business, a university cannot spend more revenue than it collects. We have a responsibility to all of you to be good stewards of our resources. Within the last year, ORU was given its largest gift to date of $70 million from the Green family. An initial $8 million was given for operational expenses and $30 million was put toward ORU debt, which has helped reduce the debt from $55 million to approximately $17 million in less than one year. The other $32 million is helping with long-deferred maintenance projects, increased financial aid for new and returning students, upgrades in technology and academic programs, and recruitment. Some of the funds were reserved for the shortfall caused by this year's projected operating deficit. Please know that we are extremely grateful to each and every member of the ORU family for your support and passion for the vision of the university. We ask for your prayers and patience as we determine the best course of action for our future and trust God to guide us moving forward. In Him, Board Chair Mart Green and Interim President Ralph Fagin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Ugh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 But not unexpected. Between now and then, some of those jobs may open up on their own and will simply not be filled. This is just part of the process of establishing financial accountability, though I'm sure the press will have a field day with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlue82 Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Not good news - but well said. I appreciate the candor and transparency of the new administration. Chances are, this action was long overdue, but in today's economic environment, becomes much more "palatable" to the general community. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 They are trying to do this as humanely as possible.... the specific announcements won't happen until mid-January and then the affected employees will have 60 days until termination. I suspect that ORU wanted to wait to announce this until after the New Year, but a leak occured. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 I would guess that whoever is hired as the new president will also have some people he or she wants to bring with them. Today on CNN they announced that some of Goldman Sach's management team declined their bonuses. Maybe some of ORU's management team will take decreases to save some employees? I am sure time will tell. http://www.news.com.au/business/money/story/0,25479,24664120-462,00.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU Big Brother Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 I would guess that whoever is hired as the new president will also have some people he or she wants to bring with them. Today on CNN they announced that some of Goldman Sach's management team declined their bonuses. Maybe some of ORU's management team will take decreases to save some employees? I am sure time will tell. http://www.news.com.au/business/money/story/0,25479,24664120-462,00.html Why would anyone in upper management at ORU receive a bonus? For what? Being employed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 I have never heard that anyone in management at ORU is receiving bonuses. Unfortunately, a reduction of employees is the most effective way to reduce operating expenses. I assume that they have reviewed positions and will try to eliminate redundant/superfluous jobs. I wonder if normal attrition will also take care of some of this? It depends on whether they are looking to use this event to restructure positions as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 I was not referring to bonuses....which are normally paid for exceeding objectives & normally are directly related to increased revenues that individual brought to their company's bottom line. In the past, I have seen upper management in corporations take cuts in pay in order to save the jobs of some of their support personnel. Because consultants have been hired to help with the evaluation of what needs done, it is even possible they will suggest pay cuts for some positions to avoid the elimination of some (certainly not all) job losses. Having retired as a manager at a Fortune 50 company, I am assuming there will be job consolidations, retirements, and implementation of "best practices" to streamline job responsibilities and lower the head count. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU Big Brother Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 I was not referring to bonuses....which are normally paid for exceeding objectives & normally are directly related to increased revenues that individual brought to their company's bottom line. In the past, I have seen upper management in corporations take cuts in pay in order to save the jobs of some of their support personnel. Because consultants have been hired to help with the evaluation of what needs done, it is even possible they will suggest pay cuts for some positions to avoid the elimination of some (certainly not all) job losses. Having retired as a manager at a Fortune 50 company, I am assuming there will be job consolidations, retirements, and implementation of "best practices" to streamline job responsibilities and lower the head count. Since the University does not contribute to employee retirement funds, forced early retirement won't work. There's no benefit to the employee to retire early. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Since the University does not contribute to employee retirement funds, forced early retirement won't work. There's no benefit to the employee to retire early. It isn't unlikely that there are employees who are past retirement age. I would think they could be forced to retire or go to part time. Only time will tell. Others may find different jobs before they are even sure that they will be downsized...thinking that it is better to get applications out before everyone else starts looking for a different job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYC Golden Eagle Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 I was at the Philadelphia alumni meeting last night and heard Mart talk about these cuts personally. He said that the university has 800 employees and 3000 students and those numbers just don’t work. I don’t know what the staff/student ratios are like at other universities but that ratio sounds high to me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.