President Welty to hold Town Hall on budget Thursday

California State University, Fresno President John D. Welty said he will hold a Town Hall to update the university community on what the CSU trustees’ decisions Tuesday will mean for Fresno State during the coming year. The Town Hall will be at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Satellite Student Union.

The Board of Trustees voted to increase student fees for the 2009-10 academic year as part of an overall budget action plan. Additional elements of the plan include employee furloughs and workforce reductions; enrollment cuts, and additional cost cutting measures on campuses.

The actions give direction to Fresno State and the 22 other campuses on how to address the $584 million funding shortfall that is a result of reduced state support, Welty said.

“We now must undertake drastic measures to meet the budget deficit we face — $18 million to $20 million at Fresno State after accounting for student fee increases adopted today and furloughs of employees. Unfortunately, this will mean restricting opportunities for students and their families throughout our diverse region who have depended upon our university to prepare tomorrow’s leaders to meet the challenges we share.”

Welty said he and his Cabinet members have been working very hard with Academic Senate and other campus leaders “to develop a budget that helps manage this severe blow to Fresno State students and employees as best we can.”