Fall, 2013 State of the College Address

Kathryn J. Boor, Ph.D.The Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

The Relevance of CALS’ Land Grant Mission

Knowledge with public purpose

Food & EnergySystems

Environmental Sciences

Economic & Community Vitality Life Sciences

Sustainability

The new Warren Hall features state-of-the-art classrooms, sustainable design elements & comfortable new meeting spaces for students & faculty, many of which are available for naming

The New Warren Hall

Phase 1 of the $53M historic renovation completed this spring on the western wing of the building

Fernow now boasts an elevator, climate control & two new classrooms – including a modern glass & steel extension to the historic building

The New Fernow Hall

New sustainable design elements, including a rain garden to control storm water runoff & solar panels

CALS’ has invested $8M in a new dairy research barn to support NY’s dairy industry

Greenhouse & Dairy Investments

Ground was recently broken on $4.7M state-funded greenhouse renovation at NYSAES in Geneva

Campaign to endow the Cornell Dairy Fellows Program Excellence Fund has raised $1.8M so far

The building also boasts modern classrooms; state-of-the-art research & teaching laboratories, a pilot plant & testing facility; a new wine library & teaching winery; & a new Extension Conference Center

The New Stocking Hall

$105M renovation features a glass-fronted dairy plant to highlight transparency in food systems

Chobani announced a $1.5M gift to support training programs in dairy quality & innovation

Stocking Hall: The New Hub of Dairy Excellence in New York

Senator Schumer proposes Cornell as the national center of excellence for dairy foods safety & quality research & training

Wegmans is partnering with Cornell on an artisan cheese-making training program to build New York into an artisan cheese-making leader

A New Home for Communication

Communication has initiated a search for a senior-level faculty member who will be based at the Cornell Tech campus in New York City

The Department of Communication is moving from Kennedy Hall to a larger, more modern space on the fourth floor of Mann Library

Newest CALS Faculty

Newest CALS Faculty

Toby Ault Brian Davis

Heather Huson

Melissa Warden

Faculty Renewal: Securing the Future of CALS

Recent Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellowships in CALS include:

• Geri Gay Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellowship in Communication, funded by Peggy Koenig ’78

• Norm R. Scott Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellowship in Biological & Environmental Engineering, funded by Martin Tang ’70

• St. John Family Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellowship in Dairy Cattle Management, funded by Ron St. John ’68 & Marcia St. John

• Zaitz Family Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellowship in Agricultural Finance & Business, funded by Benjamin Zaitz ’77 & family

• Mueller Family Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellowship in Farm Business Management, funded by George Mueller ’54 & family

• CoBank/Farm Credit East Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellowship in Economics & Management of Agricultural Production Sustainability, funded by Sheldon Brown ’68, CoBank & Farm Credit East

• Robert F. Schumann Faculty Fellowship in Conservation Science, funded by the estate of Robert F. Schumann

Headed by Prabhu Pingali, former World Bank economist & deputy director of agricultural development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Formed through a $25M endowment from the Tata Trusts to link Cornell experts with Indian colleagues & organizations to reduce poverty & malnutrition while protecting environmental, economic & human health in rural India

Tata-Cornell Agriculture & Nutrition Institute (TCi)

Julie Suarez, the newly appointed CALS Assistant Dean of Governmental & Community Relations

New Leaders in CALS

Chris Barrett named the new David J. Nolan Director of the Dyson School

Federal Funding in Decline Nationally

Federal Funding in Decline in CALS

An August 2013 Science Magazine editorial cited a 26% decline in federal USDA spending for agriculture & food research over the past decade

New York State Allocations Down 28.6%

FY 07/08 FY 08/09 FY 09/10 FY 10/11 FY 11/12 FY 12/130

10,000,000

20,000,000

30,000,000

40,000,000

50,000,000

60,000,000

70,000,000NYS allocations to CALS since FY 07/08

A New Model For Growth

A key component of the model is the development of a public-private partnership that will incentivize private support through matching public dollars

We envision a new model for a comprehensive applied agricultural research funding system for New York that is appropriately-funded, well-coordinated, efficiently run & transparent to stakeholders

A New Model For Growth

Agricultural & Food Systems Research Fund

• Headquartered within the NYS Department of Ag & Markets • Advised by an industry-based Fund Advisory Board with representation from

the state’s commodity groups & academic researchers who would review funding applications & advise the Commissioner

• We propose the Fund be structured in two parts:• The largest component will require matching dollars from the private

sector or philanthropic entities, ensuring that growers & food systems have “skin in the game”

• In recognition of the fact that some emerging sectors or emergency needs may not have the capacity to match, the Fund will allow a limited amount of dollars to be awarded without a match, but through a highly competitive awards basis

Budget Update: CALS Total Revenue from All Sources

Revenue Source FY 11/12 Actual FY 12/13 Actual FY 13/14 Budget

Tuition & Fees 130,027,848 138,395,110 144,526,937

Sponsored 101,721,164 103,673,147 95,787,144

State Appropriations 47,609,562 47,428,219 57,379,121

Other Sources 63,987,668 52,993,266 50,450,218

Investment Income 13,433,606 14,302,612 14,906,226

Gifts 11,693,932 16,829,748 14,833,585

Federal Appropriations 11,342,186 10,943,501 12,268,545

Grand Total 379,815,966

384,565,603

390,151,776

FY 11/12 FY 12/13 FY 13/14Final

ResultsFinal

ResultsFinal

Results

Revenues $206,456,858 $218,118,194 $226,806,201

Expenses $206,368,313 $218,067,545 $226,806,201

Total Net Results $88,545 $50,649 $0

We predict a balanced budget this year (FY14) with the Provost’s Subvention

Budget Update: CALS Core Budget Results*

*Excludes Department Funds, Federal Appropriations, Restricted Gifts, Contracts & Grants

Budget Update: Subventions Across Cornell

College FY 13/14 Provost’s Subvention Subvention % of Total ExpendituresCALS $33,890,000* 8.34%

Arch., Art & Planning $11,800,000 24.21%

Arts & Sciences $71,000,000 17.22%

CIS $2,445,000 6.91%

Engineering $14,462,000 5.78%

Hotel School $9,231,000 10.33%

Human Ecology $13,808,000 12.20%

ILR School $9,272,000 12.04%

Johnson School $8,615,000 9.57%

Law School $4,206,000 8.29%

Vet School $4,113,000 3.01%

*CALS figure is current & includes subventions to CALS affiliates, i.e., Lab of O, Plantations, etc. All others are estimates based on most recent data shared by the university

Question: Addressing Deficits

What are the university & college doing to proactively address budgets in deficit?

• Provost’s subventions are currently holding colleges harmless from the deficits resulting from the new budget model

• The Provost has promised to share the amounts of the FY15 subventions by late this semester; the amounts are unknown for all colleges

• The university could elect to continue to fully fund deficits• If that is not the case, the amount of the subvention will determine the scope

& scale of measures that must be taken to address the shortfall• These may include reductions in funding to capital improvements & faculty

hiring, the use of reserves as bridge funding, & the reevaluation of funding to departments & other expenditures

• We will notify departments of the budget outlook for FY15 when the information becomes available

Question: Departments & the Budget Model

How much of the budget model will apply to departments? Is it binding? Will faculty have a vote?

• The Allocated Costs bills will not be levied to departments by the university• CALS does not plan to break out Allocated Costs as charges to individual

departments• However, CALS will communicate costs to units to inform programmatic

decisions • The college will work with units to determine how activities will be supported• The budget model is binding. Faculty do not have a vote, but have had &

will continue to have the opportunity to provide their input

Question: The Importance of Undergraduate Teaching

Does the budget model favor undergraduate teaching at the expense of other core activities, such as graduate education, research & extension?

• Undergraduate education is the predominant source of revenue for CALS & Cornell

• However, graduate education, research & extension are equally vital components of CALS’ & the university’s Land Grant Mission

• The new budget model does not seek to diminish the importance of these activities in favor of undergraduate education, but will re-distribute tuition dollars equitably across all colleges responsible for teaching undergraduates at Cornell

Student-based Appropriation

$79M (65% of total)

Land Grant Appropriation

$42M (35% of total)

Cornell Pools NYS Appropriations

$121M

Tuition Pool

Tubs Colleges

CALS & ContractColleges

Endowed Colleges

“True-up” -$25M

Distribution of State Appropriation in the New Budget Model*

*Using FY12/13 Appropriation to Illustrate

Question: The Importance of Undergraduate Teaching

Does the budget model favor undergraduate teaching at the expense of other core activities, such as graduate education, research & extension?

• In FY12/13, CALS received $57M in state appropriations• Using the state’s 65%-35% allocation formula, $37M of this funding was

student-based and $20M was for Land Grant programming• However, CALS estimates it spent $40M on Land Grant activity in FY12/13• Thus, the college subsidizes Land Grant activities with student-based state

appropriations • To the extent that the tuition “true-up” reduces the amount of total state

dollars returned to CALS, the new budget model does reduce funds available for other functions

• CALS must evaluate support for all of our functions to establish for ourselves an appropriate relationship among allocations for teaching, research & extension within the confines of the revenue structure

Teaching, Research & Extension Are Essential to CALS’ Mission

Knowledge with public purpose

Food & EnergySystems

Environmental Sciences

Economic & Community Vitality Life Sciences

Sustainability

Question: CALS Trends in Credit Hours Taught

 Academic Year CALS Credits* CALS & Non-CALS Credits**

Fall ’06 – Spring ‘07 96,554 105,413

Fall ’07 – Spring ‘08 98,112 106,739

Fall ’08 – Spring ‘09 103,390 117,347

Fall ’09 – Spring ‘10 113,666 122,479

Fall ’10 – Spring ‘11 91,068 110,003

Fall ’11 – Spring ‘12 94,284 111,658

Fall ’12 – Spring ‘13 89,461 113,590

It is not clear what is causing the decline in credit hours taught in CALS. We will ask departments for insight.

* All credits taught by CALS faculty**All credits taught by CALS faculty and by non-CALS faculty in all shared departments

Question: Graduate Teaching Assistantship Allocations

Please clarify the process & polices used to assign graduate TA support to departments

• The college policy for allocating graduate assistantships is based on recommendations received from a faculty committee led by Don Viands

• The college leadership evaluates a variety of departmental teaching indicators, metrics on graduate student quality & other data

• These data inform decisions but do not direct them• Ultimately, the college leadership makes determinations based upon a

formula that is modified by the projected TA need within a department relative to similar needs elsewhere in the college

• Shrinking resources for TA-ships have inhibited our ability to provide extra lines, even when departments make a strong case for need

• We do not currently foresee the budget model driving changes in the TA allocation policy. However, the policy and each department’s needs are evaluated each year

Question: Visiting Scholars

Please clarify the fee policy for visiting scholars under the new budget model

• The fees for visiting scholars & fellows do not apply to visiting professorial faculty

• The visitor fee is explicitly waived for faculty holding appointments at other universities in order to preserve & promote the unique educational & collaborative research opportunities that occur when such faculty visit

• Fees for visiting scholars & fellows apply primarily to visiting graduate students

• Since Cornell graduate students cannot access library & other resources without being registered or paying for services, it is not fair or reasonable to subsidize such access for visiting students

Question: Grounds & Facilities Maintenance

Have any outlying facilities been closed?

• CALS is selling the lakefront property & adjoining lots at the Willsboro Research Farm & will close the Schwardt Lab on Turkey Hill

• CALS is working with a stakeholder group to share costs of running the Hudson Valley Lab

• “Building CALS” webpage: http://cals.cornell.edu/about/leadership/ofa/cpfs/building-cals/

• “Grounds maintenance” costs, such as mowing the grass, are allocated in the budget model via head count & distributed to all the colleges through cost allocation

• CALS has objected to this metric, since it includes personnel in off-campus locations (e.g., Geneva) where the college pays for grounds crews – As a result, the university is revisiting this portion of the model

• “Facilities” or “critical maintenance” funding for roof repairs, etc., is provided by the SUNY Construction Fund & distributed to the contract colleges

Question: Facilities & Administrative Cost Recovery

Will units be required to fill the gap on grants that pay less than the full 55% F&A rate charged by Cornell?

• Under the new model, the college is not required by the university to fill this gap

• However, 2% of all F&A recovery will be returned directly to the department on behalf of the PI on any grant receiving the full rate, defined in the model as the full federal rate

• The university charges full research administration costs to CALS based on expenditures & regardless of whether CALS receives the full F&A rate

• There will be no exemptions by the university from this assessment; thus, grants with limited or no F&A recovery cost CALS money

• The new budget model puts the responsibility for recovering F&A costs squarely on the shoulders of the units conducting the research

Question: The Future of Subsidized Units

Does the budget model favor units that are self-sustaining over units that require subsidies to operate, regardless of their other contributions to Cornell?

• Resources are significantly constrained• Difficult funding allocation decisions lie ahead; in some situations these

decisions may require hard choices • The university & trustees point to our unrestricted reserves as a source of

funding to bridge revenue shortfalls• Once the budget model is fully implemented, discussions must ensue over

which programs & units should be cross-subsidized from other sources, which programs could generate additional resources, & which programs can no longer be sustained

• These discussions will occur across Cornell University• We ask for the Faculty Senate’s leadership in these discussions & for your

help in educating CALS faculty on the details & goals of the budget model

Question: CALS’ Strategic Planning Process

Please describe the goals, methods & timeline of the strategic planning process

• We are entering an important transition period in the history of CALS• The decisions we make now will have lasting & profound implications for the

excellence of CALS for many years to come• The strategic planning process will help us make the best decisions possible• The Strategic Planning Coordinating Committee has been tasked with

reexamining CALS’ current focal areas & strategic priorities, as well as identifying new strategic opportunities for the college

• In spring, 2014, the committee will be expanded to focus on developing a detailed plan of where the college should best focus its energies & resources in the coming years

• They will also be expected to devise & implement a method for engaging the entire CALS community in the strategic planning process

Questions?