Following the faculty senate memorandum published in The Griffin on Nov. 22, Nancy Wallace and Anthony Habib, co-chairs of the Institutional Sustainability Task Force, sent a campus-wide email regarding their mandate and goals for achieving this.
The email reads as follows,
“As co-chairs of the Institutional Sustainability Task Force, it is our privilege to reiterate the group’s mandate and to share some information about how we will accomplish it.
The task
The task force’s charge is to support the strategic direction of Canisius University by identifying opportunities to eliminate the structural deficit and recommending investment in areas with high growth potential. We will seek to find sustainable solutions to the challenges before us, which we will then recommend to the President.
To do this important work, we have, as President Stoute described in his follow-up to the State of the University, broad latitude to examine all functions across the university and all categories on the operating statement. This is an important point to stress, because although recorded in separate columns, expenses and revenue are inextricably linked.
The bigger picture
Each member of the Institutional Sustainability Task Force understands and appreciates that a cut-only mindset is not in the best interests of the university. It is contrary to our mandate, it is not sustainable, and it will not ensure the long-term financial success of our institution.
Our mission is not to eliminate but to reinvigorate. We aim to submit recommendations to the President that not only help achieve financial sustainability, but also preserve Canisius’ Jesuit identity and mission. Our way forward will include some combination of expense reductions and revenue generation, and our priority is to explore all possible means to solve the budget crisis.
Whatever path the university takes, our destination is clear: an institution that is not only financially sustainable but also better positioned to support its students, faculty, and staff well into the future. Charting that path starts by looking past the imaginary lines that artificially separate parts of the same equation. Just as our mission calls for care for the whole person, the stewardship of our institution requires a holistic vision.
Also of import, the task force is composed of only members of the Canisius community. In addition to those named to the task force, as announced previously by President Stoute, key administrative staff members will support our work by providing essential data and information.
This will be a monthslong process, and we appreciate your patience. As the task force engages in this work of reviewing, analyzing, and discerning the way forward, we will continue to reach out periodically with updates on our progress.
To our fellow members of the task force, as well as to those across the university who are directly and indirectly supporting this work, thank you.”
Sincerely,
Anthony Habib ’95
Co-Chair
Trustee
Nancy Wallace
Co-Chair
Dean of the School of Education and Human Services
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