No more budget cuts planned; school keeps eye on economy

No more budget cuts are planned for Norwich University this year, administration officials said, despite the continued weakness in the economy.

Due to changes that have already been made, according to Dr. Joe Byrne, assistant vice president of academic affairs, Norwich University will not exceed its $70 million budget for the 2009-2010 school year.

"I do not anticipate any immediate budget cuts this year," Byrne said. However, he said, this does not mean that they could not happen or that future cuts will not be made if there are budget problems.

"What has helped the budget situation is the large freshmen class that entered Norwich University as well as student retention from last year," Byrne said. This increase of students equals extra revenue which can help prevent future cuts from occurring.

Unfortunately there are professors who do not feel as comfortable with the budget situation as Dr. Byrne does. Some professors who did not want to talk on the record feel that they could still lose their jobs and will not answer questions that have to do with the budget cuts fearing they could be putting their job at risk.

"There is always uncertainty and people wonder if they will be affected by [cuts]," Byrne said.

"If the economy starts to return then I think you'll see programs and positions return. I am optimistic that that will happen, maybe not in the next year but it will happen," said Jane Donahue, a Norwich alumna. However, with the economy being so unreliable things could get much worse for Norwich programs and staff before they get better.

The Norwich wrestling team is one program that has experienced both the loss of the program and then its return. Through extensive fund raising, supporters of the team were able to raise around $70,000 that was needed to bring wrestling back.

"Whether the wrestling team will be here the following year, I don't know," Byrne said.

Norwich has not decided if the wrestling team will need to raise money every year to keep the program, said Scott MacLean, 20, a senior criminal justice major from Norwood, Mass. Even with the program's uncertain future, "our coach is planning on coaching the Norwich wrestling team for the next few years," MacLean said.