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The
President's Post
 When
I first came to Ozarks, one of our Board of Trustee members made a statement
that has stayed with me. He said that a large endowment is nice, but
it doesn’t pay the monthly light bill. He was right. Endowments
and generous donor gifts designated for specific purposes are not intended
for daily operational costs like light bills, classroom upkeep, consumable
supplies, and campus maintenance. And those are the costs that devour
a budget.
Within our new strategic plan, approved by the Board
of Trustees and the North Central Association, we have developed mechanisms
to remove expenses from the annual operating budget in order to create
additional funding. There is no magic to this, and dollars of this nature
are difficult to raise. Our goal is to increase our number of endowed
scholarships, faculty chairs, and student-oriented programs. When the
salary for a faculty member or an academic program is endowed, the funds
come from a permanent source and not from the annual budget. The dollars
saved from the annual budget can then be allocated for other prioritized
needs and purposes.
When we came to Ozarks seven years ago, one of our
long-range goals was to make this campus financially stable and unaffected
by outside economic factors that we cannot control or eliminate. We
want to insulate the campus. That is a lofty goal, and I won’t
rest until we accomplish it. But I need your help and your confidence.
If we can conquer next year’s budget, we can conquer anything.
Although we have suffered several recent economic
challenges at Ozarks, challenges that are reflective of Arkansas and
the nation, Ozarks is stronger and more stable that it was just five
years ago. Those of you who are true veterans of this campus can attest
to the damage these current economic factors would have brought upon
us had we not strengthened ourselves through the PRIDE & PROMISE
Campaign.
We are experiencing a budget difficulty, no question
about that, but we are weathering the storm and will continue to do
so. Many of our higher education colleagues have not and will not survive
their particular challenges. We are surviving, and we will emerge even
stronger. Most of all, there is no other campus community I would choose
to have at my back in times good and bad. Your belief in me and my vision
for Ozarks means more than I can ever express.
Dr. Rick Niece
President
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