Kennedy School Announces Cuts

The Kennedy School of Government recently announced a round of restructuring and layoffs that officials said is necessitated by a budget deficit, but some in the Harvard community have questioned the appropriateness of the approach.

In a memo sent to the Kennedy School faculty and staff June 14, Dean Albert Carnesale wrote that the school was facing a "difficult financial challenge." He attributed the problem to cost of living increases, continued investments in students financial aid, lessened earnings from executive programs and "flat revenue from sponsored research."

"The combination...means that the Kennedy School will have to cut spending in core activities, including teaching programs and administration, as we begin the 1994-95 academic year," Carnesale wrote in the memo. "This will require restructuring of tasks, cutting non-personal expenses and eliminating about 10 percent of staff positions."

Carnesale is out of town and could not be reached for comment.

Steve Singer, Kennedy School spokesperson, said yesterday that the school had made "substantial" cuts earlier in the year in areas other than personnel.

He said though, that 16 positions--about 10 percent of the core staff--were eliminated through restructuring and layoffs after the spring semester ended.

"The end of the school year is the natural time for transition, because it's the time when most positions are open," Singer said.

But the budget deficit apparently came as somewhat of a surprise to the Kennedy School community, according to Shari R. Levinson, a faculty assistant at the Kennedy School.

Levinson said that she and some other members of the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers met with Administrative Dean Barbara T. Salisbury to discuss the matter after the original memo.

Dev Kernan, a Kennedy School library assistant also involved in the talks, said that the members of the Kennedy School community in general were caught off guard by the announcement of the cuts.

"People are mostly stunned because it was a surprise," he said. "They've kept the community at an arms length.

Singer was unable to release the exact figure of the deficit.

But Levinson said that the figure quoted to her at the meetings with Salisbury was $1.5 million.

"What's puzzling to us is that we've seen the whole presentation and the numbers and it's not apparent that there's a crisis and it's not apparent that it's $1.5 million worth," she said.

Kernan said that the original estimate he was given was from $1.5 to $2 million.

He said, though, that except for between $400,000 to $800,000, the deficit seems to be caused by spend- ing on some of Carnesale's "unmet priorities,"such as funding research opportunities for juniorfaculties and upping salary increases to lure newprofessors.

Both Kernan and Levinson said they were puzzledby the nature and the size of the cuts.

"A big portion of the $1.5 million are for theunmet priorities of the dean. It doesn't seemsensible for us to warrant extreme options likelayoffs," Levinson said. "It seems unduly harsh inthe way it's been carried out."

"The thing that's really tough and puzzling isthat they say the reason is financial and thatthings that are currently being done at the schoolare what the dean wants, but the dean is leaving,"Kernan said.

Carnesale officially took over as Universityprovost July 1, but he will continue to serve alsoas Kennedy School dean until a successor can befound.

Singer said that the personnel cuts will savemore than $800,000 in compensation costs. WhileSinger would not specify which departments orpositions had been affected, he said that "a vastmajority were done by restructuring around openpositions."

According to Singer, the budget cuts seem tohave been spurred by Carnesale's desire to leavethe Kennedy School financially healthy for hissuccessor.

"Dean Carnesale wanted to make sure the newdean was not faced with financial problems not of[his or her] own making," Singer said. "We havefull confidence that now our finances are sound."

Carnesale wrote in a second memo released July13 that he was "confident that the School and itsnext Dean will not confront an unmanageablefinancial situation...We must now establishprocedures to ensure that the cost savings in theSchool's administration are realized on acontinuing basis, and we must achieve greaterefficiency and effectiveness throughout theSchool.

Both Kernan and Levinson said they were puzzledby the nature and the size of the cuts.

"A big portion of the $1.5 million are for theunmet priorities of the dean. It doesn't seemsensible for us to warrant extreme options likelayoffs," Levinson said. "It seems unduly harsh inthe way it's been carried out."

"The thing that's really tough and puzzling isthat they say the reason is financial and thatthings that are currently being done at the schoolare what the dean wants, but the dean is leaving,"Kernan said.

Carnesale officially took over as Universityprovost July 1, but he will continue to serve alsoas Kennedy School dean until a successor can befound.

Singer said that the personnel cuts will savemore than $800,000 in compensation costs. WhileSinger would not specify which departments orpositions had been affected, he said that "a vastmajority were done by restructuring around openpositions."

According to Singer, the budget cuts seem tohave been spurred by Carnesale's desire to leavethe Kennedy School financially healthy for hissuccessor.

"Dean Carnesale wanted to make sure the newdean was not faced with financial problems not of[his or her] own making," Singer said. "We havefull confidence that now our finances are sound."

Carnesale wrote in a second memo released July13 that he was "confident that the School and itsnext Dean will not confront an unmanageablefinancial situation...We must now establishprocedures to ensure that the cost savings in theSchool's administration are realized on acontinuing basis, and we must achieve greaterefficiency and effectiveness throughout theSchool.