Hey buddy, can you spare $2 million? or, Glenn Meeks we hardly knew ye...

So, the news from last week as revealed by the powers that be to chairs and deans and all the trickle down that they are to communicate is that CSU will have a $2 million shortfall next year in its budget. Not really sure how we got there--the hefty 18-22% raises to various administrators (already in the 6-figure salary range)? loss of tuition income from non-coming freshmen? If anyone knows or has heard the story please advise.

And as you might imagine the cliches are already being readied to be trotted out before the Board of Trustees meeting this Friday (June 28th)--BTW have those 2 Quinn appointees actually been approved yet? Oh, right, what does it matter any longer now that we are in the post-Rozier era?

At any rate, be prepared to:

1. do "more with less..."
2. expect more "right-sizing"-- "even on the Administrative side" (yeah, right)
3. face more "reorganizations" (read: disorganization) of departments
4. live with a "hiring freeze" (unless you want to go hat in hand to the 3rd floor of the Cook Bldg and kiss rings and beg and beg and beg for a faculty member to be hired)--more on the nonhiring scam known as "job searches" at CSU at another time...

So, to be useful I thought I might suggest a few ways to recoup the lost $2 million.

1. Re-hire Glenn Meeks (or start answering finance questions with the phrase "what would Glenn do?")
2. Demand that all those ministers from all those churches who showed up at the March Board meeting rallying for the Prez to be maintained as Prez conduct second collections in their Sunday baskets for the mission of CSU.  Heck, this is Chicago, we could let them skim 25% off the top or whatever the going rate is...
3. Phone up the Godfather and let him know his baby needs 2 mill. That measly $200,000 he gave in December was strictly "chump change." We know you've got it EJ--put your money where your mouth is...
4. Turn the president's office into the fund-raising unit of the university that it is at other universities and stop expecting the ILL state politicians to come to the rescue. This is 2013, not 1971. Get out of the time warp already.