Rumor ControlHave you felt any hotter in class lately? Well, it must be your imagination, because the rumor circulating about the air conditioners around campus being turned up to reduce energy costs is not true. According to James Baker, the director of Engineering and Utilities, the thermostats aren’t being touched and “there are no plans to do that right now.” Just blame it on the South Florida heat.

Karen Slattery Educational Research CenterThe center caters mostly to children of FAU students and faculty. The children range in age from 6 weeks to 5 years old. Though they’re mostly self-sustained, the Slattery Center will not be receiving any funds or scholarships from Student Government this fall. The center will now operate from community donations and will no longer be able to help students pay for day care.

Center for Holocaust and Human RightsThe Boca campus education center will no longer be receiving support from the state to help it sustain itself. However, thanks to community donations, the center will continue operating regularly for the upcoming school year. The Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County and the League for Educational Awareness of the Holocaust gave $200,000 each.

AcademicsWhile other state universities are dealing with the budget cuts by slashing programs, FAU has no plans to eliminate any degree programs, but some of the partner campuses will offer fewer classes. The Jupiter campus will no longer offer a business degree, and computer science will not be available on the Davie campus. By contrast, Florida International University in Miami is cutting 17 different degree programs.

Small Business Development CenterThe Barry Kaye College of Business will eliminate this center, which caters to local small business owners and entrepreneurs, on Dec. 31 due to a lack of funding. The college faces almost $1 million in overall cuts for the upcoming year.

Student UnionThe plans for renovating this Boca campus building are currently delayed until further notice, according to SG Adviser Rivka Felsher. FAU was set to get nearly $1.5 million for more recreation areas and student offices, but received less money than needed for the renovations. According to Felsher, “The renovations are not in the picture for next year,” but the plan is “not going away.”

Academic AffairsThe operating budget for Academic Affairs is getting cut $6.6 million for the upcoming school year. This affects all nine FAU colleges, including the Wilkes Honors College on the Jupiter campus. See the chart below

Breakdown of Cuts Within FAU’s Nine Colleges

Budget Cuts Hit Campus-wide

SG governors sound off on how the cuts are affecting their campuses

“The budget cuts have and will continue to present us with some difficulty in making decisions. However, it has forced us as students and leaders to work together to tap into as many resources as possible. Having our campuses work together on projects, like consolidating promotional item orders, will not only help save money, but it will also give us the opportunity to form stronger relationships with our partner campuses.” – Tiffany Weimar, Boca Campus

“Aside from drastically affecting both academic and leisure programming for Broward students on all three campuses, the budget cuts have limited the amount of paid positions available for students in SG. This not only affects students seeking employment opportunities on campus, but the significant number of international students who are restricted to working on campus. Despite all the cuts, we are still working to serve the best interests of the Broward students.” – Priscilla Velasquez, Broward Campuses

“The budget cuts will unquestionably change our approach to providing quality programs and services for the [Jupiter] campus. However, I am confident in my streamlined staff, and we are ready to make life around campus better than ever. Students deserve the best from their government, and I enjoy providing the creative solutions we need to navigate the budget cuts.” – Thomas Zeichman, Jupiter Campus

“The Treasure Coast campus SG has taken a really hard hit from the budget cuts. Our programming budget has been reduced to about half of what we were originally expecting, and we have eliminated a majority of our appointed programming positions. We are using the cuts as an opportunity to streamline a lot of our processes, eliminate a lot of wasteful spending that has gone on in the past, and stretch our creative minds for new programming ideas.” – Lauren Egan, Treasure Coast Campus