News > April 5, 2007

By Alex Osteen

Senior writer

At its March 30 meeting, the university Board of Trustees voted to approve the 2007-’08 budget proposal of $289 million. This number represents an 8.3 percent or an approximate $24 million increase from the current fiscal year’s budget.

Universities’ budget sizes typically increase every year, according to vice president and chief financial officer Nancy Suttenfield, due to both general annual inflation and planned increases in expenses. Wake Forest is no different from other universities in this regard.

This newly approved budget expansion, however, is due mostly to university President Nathan O. Hatch’s recently announced plan to increase faculty and staff salaries. $11.5 million of the $24 million increase is earmarked to cover a 10 percent raise in salaries for faculty and a raise for certain staff members as well. This plan is the highest annual raise of faculty salaries in more than 20 years.

Suttenfield explained that another $1.2 million will go towards higher utilities costs and property insurance, including “higher costs charged for property insurances and the employer’s share of health insurance, increases in fuel prices and the cost of electricity and heating.”The remainder of the increase will be allocated to other “specific needs and initiatives,” Suttenfield said. Some of these initiatives represent preliminary investments in the strategic plan written by the University Planning Committee, like investment in the Admissions office to expand outreach in recruiting students from new regions or schools.

Money to cover budget expenses depends on several sources. Roughly 30 percent is a reallocation of current resources.

Tuition increase revenue is another source (On Feb. 2, the Board of Trustees voted to increase undergraduate tuition by 6.8 percent), as well as an additional 85 undergraduate students. Also, increased net income from “auxiliary income producing activities” and higher endowment returns go towards paying the budget expenses.

The endowment, in fact, hit its highest point ever in history this year, exceeding $1 billion.The extensive process of writing up a budget for the Board of Trustees is mainly spearheaded by Suttenfield and Provost William Gordon. After meeting with each dean and vice president for a “budget hearing,” they review the university-wide priorities for new funds and develop a preliminary budget.  That budget is sent through the President’s Cabinet, the deans and a newly created finance advisory committee to be reviewed and analyzed for recommendation.

A revised budget proposal is then sent to Hatch, finalized and sent to the Board of Trustees’ Finance Committee. Finally it is discussed and debated by the full Board and voted on.

A new office has been created to aid in this process, called the office of budget and financial planning.

It will be headed by Michelle Phillips who will take the new title of Associate Vice President for Budget and Financial Planning.