The Spring Town Meeting was held last Thursday during which President Shirley Ann Jackson spoke to a nearly-packed DCC 308. The primary focus was the budget for the next fiscal year which includes tuition, room, and board increases of 7 percent, 3.7 percent, and 4 percent, respectively.
Jackson opened the presentation by complimenting the Pizza with the President program that had taken place earlier that day. “This is a new initiative that allows me time to spend talking with and taking questions from our students in a casual and relaxed atmosphere,” Jackson said. “I was very impressed by the students’ questions.”
Jackson introduced Dr. John Minasian, the new Dean and Vice President of the Hartford campus. “He’s had a very successful career…and brings a rich and diverse background to the Hartford campus. We’re very glad to have him.”
After introductions, Jackson delved into the plans and the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, the fifth cycle in the performance planning budget, which started immediately following The Rensselaer Plan’s approval by the Board of Trustees in May of 2000. “During the past five years, Rensselaer has gone through a transformation…that will make it a top tier technological school of the 21st century,” Jackson said.
Jackson highlighted some of the progress made since The Plan was approved, including 140 new faculty—73 of them in new positions, research awards having increased from a total of $37 million to $90 million since the initiation of the program, and the goal of having 200 Ph.D. students graduate each year almost being attained, with 182 Ph.D.s awarded last year.
“We’re moving into new domains: life science and biotechnology,” Jackson said. Projects such as new construction and renovation for buildings like West Hall have been allocated $400 million. Jackson also pointed out that SAT scores were rising, as the average has risen 60 points for the incoming freshman class over six years. “Clearly this was an institution with a great tradition, with very smart and hardworking people, but this was an institution that needed renewal,” Jackson said.
Jackson revealed the budget for the 2005-2006 academic year at $357 million, a 40 percent increase from five years ago, a result of the “Renaissance at Rensselaer.” “The faculty are driving the ‘Renaissance at Rensselaer,’” Jackson said. “New faculty are bringing distinction to the Institution across a broad front.” One hundred fifty new faculty will have joined the Rensselaer community by the fiscal year 2006, a 25 percent increase from 2002. “Encouragement and support of faculty research is one of the key goals of The Rensselaer Plan.”
The student-to-faculty ratio has also improved, according to Jackson, as it was reduced from 17:1 to 14:1 over the past five years. The hiring for all constellations will continue, as will funding for improved research facilities, renovation of campus housing, and upgrading of athletic facilities.
The price of full-time undergraduate and graduate tuition for the next academic year will be $31,000, a 7 percent increase from last year. Room and board didn’t see as high an increase, but were still significant at 3.7 percent and 4 percent. “Tuition will be commensurate with the quality we offer and the programs…underway,” Jackson said. “This allows Rensselaer to move forward and provide a world-class technological environment and to compete” with other institutions. She also announced that each class will have an individual class dean, a program that began last year.
Many students were not happy to hear about the tuition increase. Renzo Lombardozzi ’07, said, “The increase seems kind of sudden. Now we have to plan for greater student loans for the next three years when costs for everything are going up. It’s easy to ask for more, but the students are the ones going to have to start paying off these loans soon.”
Ken Girardin ’06 added he wasn’t surprised by the hike and that “her attempts to justify [the increase] in such abstract terms as allowing RPI to ‘move forward’ only serve to intensify the insult to the many students having difficulty paying the already staggering costs of attendance.”
Dr. Jackson ended with some final comments on the focus of the “Renaissance at Rensselaer” and future goals. “Our competitors are not standing still; they continue to press forward...each has a larger faculty, each does more research, each has more endowment, and each has more programs than Rensselaer does, but it is possible to surpass them with careful planning…and judicious use of resources,” Jackson said. “The FY06 budget offers much, but also demands much…we must enroll a freshman class of 1250…and stay the course on research and graduate tuition.” Jackson also announced the speaker for this year’s 199th commencement is Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, with the comment that she “has been an advocate for support of basic research,” as well as “a friend to Rensselaer.”
Just before closing the town meeting, Jackson asked the audience if they thought Rensselaer was a good place, and the audience was a sea of raised hands. “We cannot succeed without your support and confidence and continued hard work,” Jackson told the audience. “We must seize this opportunity—this moment—to claim a pre-eminent place for Rensselaer in a new world. I am glad we all are together on this remarkable journey.”
Jackson stated that the date for evaluation of the 2005-2006 budget and whether or not adjustments will be made to it is October 1.
