Eastern Kentucky University - Milestone Yearbook (Richmond, KY)

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University President )-C. Powell contemplates cut backs in state financing facing higher education. President J.C. Powell explains steps the University has taken to handle cut backs that have occurred since 1980. With President Ronald Reagan ' s mandate from the people to trim federal spending and Gov. John Y. Brown ' s Kentucky and Company Government, higher education has become the main target of bud- get cuts. From the growth and expansion of the 60 ' s and 70 ' s, it has become a matter of Economy vs The University for the 80 ' s. Like all colleges and universities in the state, Eastern has had to trim its budget several times since 1980. In an effort to cope with budget cuts the University made several adjustments. Positions that became va- cant during the year were filled only if they were es- sential. An across-the-board reduction of 10 percent in operating expenses was also put into effect. in an effort to cope with budget cuts and maintain its quality education the University ' s Board of Regents requested general fund appropriation increases of $18.3 million for the 1982-84 biennium budget. University President J.C. Powell said in an interview, ... if we set as our only goal the provision of un- avoidable cost items and cost of living increases, we would have to make enough reductions in our operat- ing expenses to achieve them. Equally important, however, is that since about 1978 or 1979, we haven ' t increased our allocation for operating expenses, educational supplies, office sup- plies, or travel — the sort of things that are necessary to keep up. When you consider that inflation has been somewhere near dou ble-digit during that period of time, we in effect have lost 30 to 40 percent in effec- tive purchasing power. As for Eastern, we are trying to find ways to im- prove our academic programs. The thrust of the 80 ' s in higher education will be toward quality, not quantity. Student Life 21

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Women ' s gymnastics is also one of the lour collegiate sports to be dropped by the University after this year. There was a plaque hanging in Dr. Gerald Calkin ' s office in Alumni Coliseum that was inscribed with, If you are being run out of town, get in front of the crowd and make it look like a parade. Dr. Calkin, the men ' s gymnastics coach, wasn ' t be- ing run out of town, but the gymnastics team was dropped as a college sport at the end of the year, and the team was going out in style. The team worked hard not to tail-off during the last season, and the work paid off. By March, they were ranked 41st nationally — the highest ranking the team had received in its 13 years of competition at the University. At the last home meet, 800 fans and alumni watched the team in a match against the University of Miami and the University of Georgia. The last home meet is usually reserved for introduc- ing the senior team members to the audience. This year, however, everyone was introduced, in a way, they were all seniors. Calkin first learned of the cut last spring when a request for money to be used in recruiting was denied. Despite the announcement that the sport would be dropped, the squad for 1982 has nine members, with only one senior. The fact that the sport was being dropped made it a strange year. In a sense, everyone was a senior, Calkin said. The team also has had a record of academic excel- lence. For the last several years, the squad has main- tained the highest GPA of any team on campus. The program also had an impact on the high school gymnastics program in Kentucky. Calkin said there is a high percentage of University graduates that coach high school gymnastics, and while gymnastics is declin- ing in most high school programs across the nation, it is growing in Kentucky. Calkin summed up the season with this statement, It was the best season we ever had. I ' m pleased because it ' s a good way to finish out a quality program and very unhappy to see the program discontinued. I feel that the discontinuation of the program is going to be detrimental to University and high school gym nas- tics instruction. While a few dollars were saved out of the athletic budget, it is not without cost. (Other sports being cut were women ' s gymnastics, women ' s indoor track and men ' s cross country.) Student Life 23