The Chronicle T h e i n d e p e n d e n t d a i ly at D u k e U n i v e r s i t y
Friday, October 22, 2010
New ordering process could save $30M
ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTH YEAR, Issue 40
www.dukechronicle.com
academic council
Rower’s delight
Admins give overview of Uni budget
by Matthew Chase THE CHRONICLE
Faced with shrinking budgets, universities nationwide are looking for creative methods to cut costs. To save money at Duke—up to $30 million—administrators plan to consolidate the process for ordering items. Office supplies, lab equipment, services and other supplies currently cost the University $650 million every year, Executive Vice President Tallman Trask told the Academic Council last month. To reduce the cost of these expenditures, the University expects to go live with a software program that could save anywhere from 5 to 20 percent of every dollar spent. The electronic program, produced by Cary-based SciQuest, connects users with contracts that offer lower costs and price cuts. It also eliminates paperwork, which can be time consuming. “You’ve got to have some kind of efficient system, and this is an attempt to basically automate and put online the ability to mass negotiate prices but then let people pick out the orders whenever they want to,” Task said. Reducing costs by only 5 percent could save the University about $30 million a year.
by Joanna Lichter THE CHRONICLE
A natural gas leak in downtown Durham forced the evacuation of nearby buildings Thursday morning, including restaurants and Duke offices in Brightleaf Square. A worker accidentally cut a gas pipe underneath Main Street near Watts Street. A contractor was doing work underground at the intersection and accidentally hit a 4-inch pipeline, said Angie Townsend, spokesperson for PSNC Energy. Approximately 150 Duke employees evacuated the Duke University Press and Duke Psychiatry offices, according to a Duke news release. Duke employees could not re-enter the offices until 3:30 p.m. because the buildings had to be empty for two to four hours while they were inspected for traces of gas, said Vice President for Human Resources Kyle Cavanaugh. “I want to commend the management in these two offices,” Cavanaugh said, adding that the University was in contact with local emergency officials. “It was a calm and collective evacuation—impact was localized on members of small buildings.” The contracting company, All Star Underground, was
University officials provided a detailed presentation to faculty members Thursday regarding the underlying processes and structure of Duke’s budget. Provost Peter Lange and Executive Vice President Tallman Trask explained the University’s revenue, expenditure and management structures at the Academic Council meeting Oct. 21. James Roberts, executive vice provost for finance and administration, gave an overview of Duke’s accounting system. The presentation followed a request by Council Chair Craig Henriquez and professor of biomedical engineering, who asked for clarification of Duke’s budgetary system. The administrators explained the University’s management center budgeting strategy, which decentralizes resource allocation decisions to academic deans. In this way, deans are primarily responsible for balancing departmental budgets and deciding in which areas to make cuts. “[Deans] have a responsibility to improve academic programs as much as possible and hit the right balance... in cutting programs,” Lange said. “Rarely have we said, ‘You need to make this cut and this is how you need to do it.’” If departments generate surplus revenue, Lange said deans can use this money at their discretion for academic purposes. Lange also elaborated on the revenue sources for Duke’s schools, including the Fuqua School of Business and the School of Law. “The Law School has extremely stable tuition. The likelihood that Arts and Sciences and Law will not hit its tuition target is very unlikely,” Lange said. “For Fuqua, [there are] a lot of tuition programs. Some go up and some go down. They are more dependent on the external environment. The amount of risk in the budget from tuition is higher.” President Richard Brodhead also addressed faculty members, providing a brief update on the Board of Trustees meeting earlier this month. Brodhead said the Board focused its discussion on the endowment, undergraduate admissions and global strategy, among other issues.
See gas leak on page 6
See academic on page 8
chelsea pieroni/The Chronicle
Duke Women’s Rowing, in partnership with The Susan G. Komen Foundation, hosted a Row for the Cure event Thursday. Food and tank tops were available for purchase as members trained in one-hour shifts.
See eprocurement on page 9
Offices evacuated in Brightleaf gas leak by Alejandro Bolívar THE CHRONICLE
Chronicle file photo
Thursday’s gas leak paralyzed Brightleaf Square, forcing its evacuation and shutting down more than 23 businesses. The leak lasted approximately 45 minutes.
ONTHERECORD
“I hear time and time again... that there isn’t a real coherent arts community on campus.”
—Vice Provost for the Arts Scott Lindroth. See story page 3
Blue Devils top No. 9 Boston College, Page 12
CC OKs genderneutral and coed housing, Page 4