Budget plan calls for raises, new positions, infrastructure changes

Mississippi State's operating budget for 1998-99 will include funding for faculty and staff salary increases, new faculty positions, and additional support for teaching, research and service.

President Malcolm Portera outlined budget allocation plans for the next three years in meetings with faculty, administrative, and staff representatives.

The proposed budget for the year beginning July 1 will channel more than $5 million into faculty and staff salaries and an additional $2.5 million into creating 50 new faculty positions needed to meet accreditation standards.

More than $2.5 million will be devoted to infrastructure needs, including funds for the library and information technology; research and service support for the Engineering Research Center and the Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine; and a plan for improved instruction and service at the Meridian Campus.

Portera also announced plans for an Opportunity Fund that will support hiring efforts that increase diversity in the faculty and administration.

The budget plan outlined in recent days is intended to raise faculty salaries over a two- to three-year period to the regional average for peer institutions; make teaching and research loads equal to the land-grant university average; and address infrastructure needs in teaching, research, and service.

Portera said the plan supports three long-term strategic objectives: to create a preeminent instructional program for undergraduate education; to propel Mississippi State into the top 75 research institutions as ranked by the National Science Foundation and to substantially enhance graduate education; and to take the public service program to national prominence among land-grant universities.

New funding available for next year that will allow the budget plan to be implemented includes a $2 million "comprehensive institution increment" approved this year by the Board of Trustees to help bring the state's research universities closer to the funding level for comparable Southeastern universities.

Legislative appropriations will provide $2.7 million toward the planned salary increases, and a tuition increase approved by the Board of Trustees in April is expected to generate $3.6 million.

A plan also is being put into place to phase out Academic Achievement Scholarships currently supported by state funds and to replace the scholarships with private contributions. The first step in the transition this year will free $2 million in Education and General funds for other uses. Some reallocations of existing funds help complete the funding plan for the operating budget.

"This budget is a big first step toward enhancing the academic infrastructure of the university," Portera said. "It is the product of hard work by a number of individuals to generate new resources for Mississippi State. We are grateful for the commitment made by the state Legislature and for the very substantial support of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning."

The budget was developed over a three-month period in consultation with the vice presidents and deans and representatives of the faculty, staff, and students, Portera said. "I appreciate very much the campus commitment to working with us in a partnership arrangement to achieve our goals," he said.

The Legislature this year also approved a state bond issue that includes $6.5 million for projects at Mississippi State. Those funds will provide $1 million for classroom renovations during the coming year, which Portera said is the first installment of a five-year commitment to classroom improvements, if funds are available.

State bond funds also will support renovation of Lee Hall auditorium, improvements to Blackjack Road and completion of funding for the planned Hilbun Hall renovation, and will provide a portion of the funding for the planned north entrance to campus from Highway 82.

A university-funded bond issue approved this spring by the Board of Trustees will provide for renovations at McCain engineering building, development of new apartment-style student housing and residence hall renovations, renovations of donated space in Jackson to house the fifth-year program of the School of Architecture, additions at McArthur Hall and the College of Veterinary Medicine, and expanded athletics facilities. Each of those projects brings its own revenue stream from private contributions or self-generated funds.