Last Friday, December 8, budget modernization project co-chairs Zeynep Hansen and Chris Johnson sponsored a Q&A/listening session for faculty and staff to solicit feedback and answer questions about the budget modernization initiative. Provost John Buckwalter, CFOO Alicia Estey, and multiple members of the Planning Advisory Council (PAC) participated in the session as well.
During the listening session, a number of faculty, including Faculty Senate president Lisa Bostaph, expressed concerns about the university contracting with rpk GROUP for consultative services. Other campus colleagues have expressed similar concerns.
We heard you.
Although we recognize that there is no perfect budget model, we cannot develop the best model possible when there is a lack of trust and confidence in our project consultants. For this reason, the university will not use rpk GROUP to consult on this project.
The PAC will discuss next steps during their meeting today, and will provide additional updates as decisions are made.
Thank you again for your engagement in the Budget Modernization Initiative.
Most sincerely,
Dr. John Buckwalter, Provost
Alicia Estey, Vice President and Chief Financial and Operations Officer
Dr, Zeynep Hansen, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
Chris Johnson, Associate Vice President for Budget and Planning
For the most up-to-date information on this initiative, please visit the Budget Modernization webpage, which has a recently updated FAQ section.