Gov. Pat McCrory’s first proposed budget cut was released last month by the Office of State Budget and Management. The McCrory budget proposes to cut $135 million from the UNC system, possibly pushing some schools in the system into a financial corner.

Although it is uncertain what the consequences will be if the budget is passed, the fact is that higher education is changing.

Student body president at UNC Wilmington, Keith Fraser, expressed his feelings about the budget cuts and how they will impact UNCW specifically.

“Higher education itself is at a critical point in history, as it is becoming more and more expensive,” Fraser said.  “It will be interesting to see how UNCW responds accordingly.”

Fraser thinks the UNCW administration, including the chancellor, vice chancellors and athletic director, among others, will have to make very difficult, but important, decisions in the future.

“The university has to prepare for what’s going to happen in the future because of changing technology,” said Fraser.

According to Mark Lanier, assistant to the chancellor and assistant secretary to the Board of Trustees, the proposed cuts will not be finalized until later.

“The governor’s budget has been released and contains cuts, yet the Senate is just beginning its deliberative process,” Lanier said. “After the Senate proposes its version of the budget, the House will do the same. Then, the differences between the Senate and the House will have to be resolved through a conference committee process. Only at the end of that process, likely to be sometime in June, will we know what the cuts will be.”

North Carolina students first took notice of McCrory’s intentions for higher education during a Jan. 29 radio interview with conservative talk-show host Bill Bennet. On the show, McCrory said he has instructed staff to draft legislation changing the way the UNC system is funded, focusing more on results-graduates getting jobs-than on liberal arts programs such as women’s and gender studies

In a memo from Chancellor Miller, the chancellor gives credit to the areas of McCrory’s proposed budget that give attention to priorities such as funding for repairs, renovations and enrollment growth.

“Nevertheless, I am concerned that additional proposed budget reductions, coming on the heels of significant reductions over the past two years, will severely diminish our ability to deliver excellence in our programs and restrict our effectiveness as a community partner,” Miller said.

Both Chancellor Miller and Lanier have communicated that while planning to deal with the budget cuts, UNCW’s top priority will be to maintain quality.

According to Lanier, as is typical for this time of year, UNCW is preparing for multiple possible outcomes of the legislative process.

 “Although UNCW is already a very efficient campus, we are always looking for ways to achieve additional efficiencies, to be innovative, to generate additional resources, and make maximum use of all available resources,” Lanier said.