Cost containment measures

This message is reprinted from a letter sent to campus via e-mail on October 28.

As part of the cost containment initiative that the administration launched as a consequence of the economic downturn, we have recently examined the range of events held annually on campus. We have decided to make some changes, with the aim of cutting back on our spending. We will be canceling some events and reducing the scale of others, particularly in the provision of catering.

First of all, we have decided to suspend the Holiday Party this year, and may also have to do this again for 2010. Departments and laboratories may still wish to hold their own small parties during the holiday season, but if they do so I request everyone to bear in mind the need to keep costs down as much as possible.

Instead we plan to combine the annual Employee Recognition event, usually held in the spring, with a campus-wide celebration of the significant prizes and awards received by members of the Rockefeller community over the past year. Several members of the faculty have won important science prizes in recent months and I will be very pleased to welcome everyone on the campus to a combined, larger event to celebrate these and to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the many members of the university. This event will be held on April 21 at 3 p.m.

Later in 2010 we will hold the Anniversary Retirement Dinner, another event at which we have the opportunity to show our appreciation of the extraordinary service of long-serving members of the community.

We reviewed the various events around Convocation and have decided to suspend the Honorary Degree Dinner for this year. The honorary degree recipients will instead be recognized at the luncheon held to celebrate the new graduates on Convocation day. The campus-wide reception on the Peggy Rockefeller Plaza, held in the afternoon after the graduation ceremony, will go ahead, but on a reduced scale.

A number of smaller events were reviewed; some will be subject to certain cost-saving changes:

• At the Monday Lectures we will no longer serve refreshments. Cookies and coffee will continue to be offered prior to the Friday Lectures.
• At the biannual meetings of the Academic Senate we will serve water, coffee and tea only.
• At the monthly HOL Forum we will provide soft drinks only. Catering arrangements for the monthly Nontenured HOL Forum remain unchanged.
• Human Resources-managed events such as Take Your Child to Work Day and the Art Show remain in place as these provide a relatively inexpensive opportunity for members of the community to share aspects of their lives with their colleagues and families.
• Proposals for symposia, such as the very successful Evolution Symposium held in 2008, will still be considered.
• Reductions have been made in the on-campus events (not related to fundraising) attended by the Board of Trustees.
• Provision of catering at meetings organized by the university administration held over the lunch period has been reduced or eliminated.

These changes will take effect from November 1.

During this period of considerable economic difficulty, it is important that we exercise restraint in all areas of our spending. But there is a balance that we can achieve: While acknowledging the need for austerity, we wish to celebrate the achievements of Rockefeller, its dedicated staff and its remarkable faculty. Most importantly, we also need to manage the operations of the university in a way that enables it to continue to function at the highest standard.