President John D. Welty has initiated a budget planning process that involves the entire California State University, Fresno campus to prepare for what he calls a “devastating” cutback in state funding to higher education in 2011-12.

Welty on Friday released a budget process timeline and introduced a Fresno State Suggestion Box program for faculty, staff and students to share ideas about reducing costs and improving efficiency.

“The task before us is very, very difficult,” said Welty. “We need to plan for an approximate reduction of $20 million in our base budget.”

For planning purposes, Welty and his cabinet have established planning targets for 2011-12 that call for:

  • A preliminary budget reduction that may reach $20 million.
  • An enrollment of approximately 21,000 students.

Welty will consult with various campus constituencies and finalize the campus budget in late May. The budget would be implemented beginning July 1, with review and planning continuing through December for 2011-12 and 2012-13.

He urged members of the university community to offer suggestions during the planning process. “It is important that we work together as we work through in this difficult period in our university’s history,” he said.

A video message from Welty, the budget process timeline and information about the Suggestion Box program are available on Fresno State’s Budget Central webpage, www.fresnostatenews.com/budget-central/.