Brace for more.

That’s the message Kansas University administrators sent as they made their most public round of budget cuts in June.

With the possibility of midyear cuts in state funds during a slumping economy, the $7.1 million already cut from this year’s budget might be only the beginning.

“As difficult as these reductions are, they are consistent with recent warnings from the governor that we prepare for midyear reductions,” Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor David Shulenburger said. “We will continue to evaluate our operations for further cost-cutting measures throughout the coming fiscal year.”

At the Lawrence campus, cuts include eliminating 54 positions, closing the Museum of Anthropology, ending state funding for the Paleontological Institute, and eliminating a Kansas Geological Survey department and a team that removes asbestos from campus buildings.

Cuts at the Kansas University Medical Center include eliminating 35 positions, ending the physical therapy program in Pittsburg and nursing neonatal intensive care master’s program, reducing library hours, cutting operating and equipment funds and reducing clinical outreach airplane flights.

And faculty and staff members didn’t get an increase in pay this year, the first time in 30 years. KU officials said each 1 percent increase in pay cost the university about $2 million.

Budget hit

According to figures from the Kansas Board of Regents, KU’s Lawrence campus will receive $138.7 million from the state during this fiscal year, and the KU Medical Center will receive $104.7 million. Those numbers are the same as last year.

But KU’s costs are continuing to rise, and the state is cutting other areas of the budget.

KU’s share of the global cuts approved by the Legislature, which affect travel and furniture expenses in all state agencies, will be about $752,320 at the Lawrence campus and $461,438 at the Medical Center.

Employer costs, such as insurance, increased $3.8 million at the Lawrence campus and $2.1 million at the Med Center.

“We have to manage very tightly and make sure every dime we spend is done productively,” Chancellor Robert Hemenway said. “We don’t have the luxury of not being efficient. We’ll have to be much more creative than we have in the past.”

Hemenway said the decision not to make across-the-board cuts was easy. He said academic departments should be spared cuts as much as possible, although 10 of the 54 positions eliminated at the Lawrence campus were faculty jobs.

“Our philosophy through this whole process is students come first, and we’re trying as much as we can to meet what’s in the best interest of the students,” said Janet Murguia, executive vice chancellor for university relations.

KU officials said 22 of the 54 positions cut at the Lawrence campus were filled. The rest were vacant.

“I hate to eliminate positions, especially when people are in them,” Hemenway said.

Cuts detailed

A closer look at Lawrence campus cuts:

l Closing the Museum of Anthropology’s public exhibition space this fall. The closing includes five positions, and the museum costs about $150,000 a year to operate.

The summer exhibits and this fall’s Indian Arts Show will continue as planned. Officials said research and education programs would continue at the museum.

l Phased elimination of the mathematical geological program at the Kansas Geological Survey. Lee Allison, the survey’s director, said the department performed analysis of data for other departments at the survey and also conducted research in other parts of the nation and world.

Allison said the cut would allow researchers to continue working on projects that affect Kansas, including oil and water aquifer programs.

The department has six staff members. Its elimination, added to other cuts at the geological survey, totals $245,000.

l Elimination of the asbestos abatement unit in facilities operations. The five-person department, which handles all asbestos removal projects for the university, will be replaced by private contractors.

l Elimination of state funding for the Paleontological Institute, which publishes several research journals.

Three staff members will be laid off, with $104,000 saved per year. But Lynn Bretz, a KU spokeswoman, said the institute may find funding away from the state to continue operation.

Murguia said additional cuts would be made using the same philosophies administrators have made thus far: no across-the-board cuts, and academics come first.

“It’s an ongoing review of what we need to do to adjust to the cuts and to the needs we’re trying to protect for the university,” she said. “We just need to play to be prepared. That involves some difficult decisions and a lot of belt-tightening.”