NC State's financial leader
outlines future priorities

In his first appearance before the Faculty Senate as NC State’s
new vice chancellor for finance and business, Charles Leffler outlined several issues and opportunities that his office would face over the next several years.

Among them:

• Seeing that current bond projects are completed as planned
• Upgrading the university’s financial system to provide greater access to information and more Web-based services, which he said should take place next February
• Upgrading the university’s human resources system, which he said should take place a year from now
• Preparing for the next round of capital projects
• Focusing on ways to improve campus safety
• Pursuing Centennial Campus development
• Updating the physical master plan of the campus, which will take place next year
• Working with the new Faculty Advisory Budget Committee, which grew out of a senate resolution last year

On the issue of bond projects, Leffler said that the current Higher Education Bond of $468 million “only scratches the surface of our needs,” and that “actually more campus projects were left unfunded than funded.”

As proof, he offered a list of 51 prioritized projects totaling more than $803 million left unfunded by the current bond. That list will make up the university’s wish list for the next bond request.

Leffler said that it was unrealistic to expect that all 51 of those projects would be funded should another bond be passed, but that the top 10 items on the list, which would cost a total of roughly $283 million, would be “a reasonable ask for the next biennium.”

Those 10 projects, listed in order, are:

• Centennial Campus Library
• Engineering Complex III
• Centennial Campus Infrastructure, Phase A
• Academic Building, North Campus
• Broughton Hall Renovation
• Main Campus Infrastructure, Phase A
• Companion Animal Hospital (CVM)
• Centennial Biomedical Campus Infrastructure, Phase A
• Natural Resources Research Building
• Ricks Hall Renovation

Senators had a number of questions about why certain projects were emphasized over others. Leffler said that he welcomed direct feedback on these issues, but pointed out that ultimately such decisions are made in consultation with the deans, and encouraged faculty involvement in decision-making at the college level.

The senate also heard a report from Provost James Oblinger on NC State’s use of counteroffers in attempting to retain faculty being pursued by outside organizations.
He said that since July 1, 2001, 71 outside offers were known to have been received by faculty at the university. In 49 of those cases, NC State successfully counteroffered.

Among the 49 who received counteroffers, the salary increase ranged from $2,375 to $35,000, and the average increase was 15.6 percent. Information available on 11 of the 22 who accepted an outside offer shows that the counteroffers made ranged from $1,375 to $21,000 and averaged 15.08 percent.

Given that the percentage increase was roughly the same for both groups, Oblinger said that other factors played a significant role in the ability of the university to retain faculty.

“The more that we go into the situation of losing people who we have counteroffered, factors such as start-up funds, operating dollars, equipment that’s going to be provided to them in their new home, the facilities, fringe benefits, and support staff, those are very significant dimensions to someone leaving us.”

Posted September 17, 2004

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