Weekly E-newsletter on Financial Model Begins

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 22, 2013) — To keep the University of Kentucky community more informed and engaged in the process of transitioning to a new financial budget model, UK Provost Christine Riordan is initiating a weekly communication with faculty, staff and students.

Riordan's first e-newsletter on the new financial budget model was distributed Thursday, Nov. 21.  Following is the full message:

During the deepest part of the Great Recession a few years ago, I was asked to write an article about the imperative of change in a dynamic work environment and the importance of engaging everyone in that process.

"Have no illusions," I wrote then. The "environment today is different. Even as we move out of the recession, (our environment) will remain permanently altered. As a result, it requires that we all think differently … and engage in an evolving set of behaviors and activities. Everyone should ask themselves, 'If I were to start this job all over again today, what would I do differently?'"

It's a telling reminder for me about where we are today at the University of Kentucky.

The importance of our mission -- to educate, conduct research and serve the Commonwealth -- has not changed. However, there's also no mistaking the fact that the environment in which we do our critical work together has been altered dramatically.

President Capilouto and I are committed to frequent and transparent communication to keep the campus both informed and engaged. My commitment to you is to build upon those efforts in communicating openly, honestly and transparently around the host of critical issues confronting our university.

The move to a values-based financial model is just one of those areas. Such a model will help us more fully maximize the revenues we receive from the state, from tuition and in federal grants for research. In short, it's a tool to allow us to better shape, together, our destiny and future as an institution.

But it's a complicated topic. And, understandably, that complexity and the uncertainty we all face in higher education raises lots of questions -- questions about how we operate as a university today and questions about the way we need to do things tomorrow.

To help facilitate more communication and engagement, we're starting a weekly e-newsletter that we will distribute across campus and also place on UKNow, along with more consistent updates to our financial model website, which we are in the process of re-designing: http://www.uky.edu/Provost/FinancialModel/.

This week, for example, we've added more information to the site, clarifying the timeline for design of the model and implementation of it along with information about the core principles driving this process. Soon, we'll be adding to the list of frequently asked questions that we've been gathering and responding to as we engage with members of the university community on a regular basis.

As we've communicated previously, the transition to a new values-based financial model is a marathon, not a sprint.

Between now and June 2015, when we fully implement the new budget model, we will continue to gather input, make tweaks and changes where necessary, and communicate constantly about this critically important process. In short, we are modifying and improving the model and processes for UK based on the great input from the community.

Over the last two years, as the design of the new model was initiated, there has been important dialogue with stakeholders across every area of our campus. That's good. But it's only a start, not an end.

We must -- and we will -- do more to actively engage everyone in this process. After all, the move to a values-based budget model is really one more opportunity to discuss the kind of university we want to be for the Commonwealth.

It's a good discussion to have now. It's a necessary one. The timing is particularly appropriate as we begin our strategic planning process -- "see tomorrow. The University of Kentucky Strategic Plan" -- that will help guide our institution's progress and momentum between now and 2020.

I look forward to having that conversation with all of you over the next year-and-a-half.

All the best,

Christine M. Riordan