As budget cuts loom at UTM and statewide, faculty, staff and administrators are searching for ways to make ends meet without hurting students' education.

UT System President John Shumaker has been sending e-mail messages to update students and faculty about the status of the state's budget crisis and its impact on higher education.

At this point, he said, nearly $38 million will need to be cut from the UT System budget in the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. Systemwide, that means 375 positions, some of which are filled, are likely to be lost and about 1,000 students are likely to be affected.

"While having to make these cuts, the UT system is trying to continue its investments in the areas that are advantageously important to Tennessee, such as the new Tennessee College of Public Health," Shumaker said.

He added that he will continue to notify all who are affected by the cuts.

"We maintain our commitment to our core mission, while realizing the state has a serious fiscal crisis," Shumaker said. "We are approaching this cost-cutting as part of an ongoing process of making the university more efficient and effective."

UTM is likely to lose at least 16-18 faculty positions, as well as a number of staff positions.

In e-mails, Chancellor Nick Dunagan has said that as many losses as possible will come from unfilled, temporary or adjunct positions, and that some savings may be realized through attrition.

Financially, UTM's share of the cuts for next fiscal year is 9 percent, or about $2.5 million.

According to administrative information, if tuition were raised 5 percent (and assuming no large increases or decreases in enrollment), nearly $1 million would be generated, leaving the university to find about $1.6 million in savings.

UTM already has lost its reserve fund of $1.4 million, which was wiped out when the state requested a 5 percent budget reduction in the current fiscal year.

That cut, and the promise of much worse to come, has forced UTM employees to search for ways to cut spending, operational costs, etc., in order to reach the budget goals and raise tuition as little as possible.

As departments campuswide dig even deeper, however, the university has committed to the following guidelines: preserving the core teaching mission; preserving the culture of student involvement; protecting UTM's future; and enhancing revenue opportunities.

In the coming weeks, The Pacer will publish an in-depth look at how current and future budget cuts, while not final, are likely to affect colleges, departments and administrative divisions within the university.