Lou Hencken knew the budget was on everyone’s mind.

“I, too, am tired of talking about the budget, but I feel that the best way to get through the difficult financial crisis is to continually communicate with the Eastern community,” Hencken said, beginning his State of the University address Tuesday.

He covered budget woes for this and next fiscal year, and also stressed university strengths to a crowd of about 500.

It is always easier for someone to suggest cuts from areas that won’t affect them personally. But the university is responding to a callback of 2.7 percent, or $1.4 million, this year and 8.2 percent in budget losses for next fiscal year, Hencken said.

“Our FY 03 beginning budget was less than we predicted, and we had to enter the new fiscal year with the prospect of … having to reduce the amount of money that we could spend on much-needed deferred maintenance and equipment purchases,” he said.

This year the university already put 2 percent in reserve. The other about $100,000 will be made up by insurance costs and cuts in summer school, he said.

Classes with more available times and low enrollment could be cut from the summer curriculum. Air conditioning will be shut off in some academic buildings Friday afternoon and the weekend to save $50,000 this fiscal year alone.

The classes cut and buildings to feel the temperature increase are still uncertain.

The recommendations for next year include a request for public universities to stash away $3.7 million in reserve on top of the 8.2 percent in cuts.

“We have a choice. We can worry, complain and ask, ‘why me?’ or we can work together to resolve the difficult budget decisions until good times return,” Hencken said. “We are going to be forced to be more innovative.

“I think we are all aware that when it comes to making decisions, universities change courses like steamships, very slowly,” he said.

The uncertain solutions for next year will involve campus input, not just making cuts in such areas as campus maintenance, he said.

“We must continue the selective hiring freeze on non-teaching positions.”

Switching gears, Hencken said the Alumni Association, Eastern Illinois University Foundation and private donations are positive aspects of Eastern.

Gifts to the university have increased $655,140 over the past year to $2.1 million.

Eastern will be evaluated as an institution in 2005, but several academic departments have recently received a separate reaccreditation.

The Communication Disorders and Sciences, Family and Consumer Sciences, School of Business Accounting Programs and the College of Education and Professional Studies were reaccredited.

Eastern is still in the top 25 percent of all colleges and universities in the U.S. News and World Report rankings, Hencken said.

“However, I must express concern about remaining in this very elite group for next year as one of the major criteria used to judge excellence is the money spent per student.”

Hencken also mentioned the university’s high freshman application and graduation rate.