June 17, 2014

Dear Colleague:

As described in news reports last week, the Virginia General Assembly passed its 2014-2016 biennial budget on June 12.

You may recall from my previous correspondence that ODU stood to receive an additional $15 million in new resources, in part due to the support of then Gov. Bob McDonnell from the budget he introduced in December, as well as the continued assistance from the Virginia House and Senate throughout the General Assembly session. In addition to base operating resources, the General Assembly was also prepared to provide employees with a salary increase in FY15.

Unfortunately, in mid-May reports began to surface that the Commonwealth's revenue projections were short approximately $1.55 billion over the biennium. As a result, the final budget removes all new funding for the entire system of higher education, including ODU.

I know many of you share my disappointment at this turn of events, and we are already working hard to refocus our efforts in recapturing these funds. It is my hope that we will be able to report a much more positive budget outcome next spring.

Sincerely,

John R. Broderick
President