Review of Financial Decision Points

Email sent January 30, 2025

To: BODC

Re: Review of Financial Decision Points

Several factors are converging to create an uncertain financial landscape in which the University must operate. External factors include the evolution of federal funding allocations through Presidential executive orders, Office of Management and Budget directives, federal agency guidance, and legal challenges. In addition, the state of Washington is facing a significant operating deficit, and state agencies, including higher education, have been asked to provide state funding reduction impact statements. Internal factors include rising expenses that have outpaced revenue growth, leading to operating losses at the University.

While the University currently has a strong financial position, this uncertain landscape and the potential magnitude of the collective impact necessitates immediate and proactive steps to mitigate the risk to our mission. I appreciate your partnership in managing these measures locally.

I am writing with a request to undertake the following actions:

1. Review and modify as needed:
   1. Faculty hiring plans and open staff positions for the current year (FY25), considering withdrawal of search authorization, restrictions on successive offers, and/or pauses on in-process searches
   2. Admission targets for doctoral students.
2. Consider cost controlling measures including:
   1. Restrictions on non-essential spending, including travel, training, goods and supplies, contracts, food and equipment across all resource types
   2. Where prudent and possible, re-negotiation of existing service contracts and consideration of whether service contracts are necessary to conduct our work
   3. Review and constraint of non-core activities that do not directly support instruction, research, and public service missions, including programs launched with one-time funding
   4. Other approaches outlined in the Together We Thrive program
3. Review and update current policies and practices governing internal control of decision making on financial matters to ensure oversight at the Dean or Chancellor level, especially, but not limited to, grants and contracts impacted by stop work orders, executive orders, and other agency guidance.
4. Improve timely and accurate posting of expenditures on grants, which is causing delays in federal financial report submissions. In addition to reducing the inefficiencies imposed by a lack of timeliness and accuracy, we are exploring:
   1. firm nonnegotiable timelines on expenditure posting
   2. surge staff options
5. Ensure timely compliance with stop-work orders received from federal agencies, as directed by OSP and FBP.
6. Identify other areas for adjustment, beyond the minimum approaches above, based on risks that you have identified that are specific to your unit.

Please report your plans, particularly on items 1 and 3, to me in writing by February 14, 2025.

Sincerely,

Tricia R. Serio
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs 
Professor, Biochemistry