KU Chancellor Doug Girod defended recent budget decisions and urged unity in the KU community following an unofficial vote in which nearly 80% of respondents said they had lost confidence in the university’s leadership. 

In a statement published Tuesday, Girod and Arash Mafi, chief academic officer and provost, said KU had to make tough choices during the last few years, but the goal of the administration has been to position the university for success moving forward. 

“In this environment, every budget decision involves tradeoffs that reasonable people can, and will, disagree on,” the statement said. “Yet at the end of the day, decisions must be made.”

Of the 2,012 responses to an online survey initiated by the presidents of the Faculty Senate and University Senate, 79.7% of respondents expressed no confidence, including majorities of the surveyed faculty, staff, students and alumni.

The results, released last week, included votes from about 20% of KU’s faculty, with 82% of them voting no confidence. Among students, 547 of 590 surveyed, or about 93%, voted no confidence.

A KU spokesperson said the vote was not an accurate picture of sentiment in the KU community because of its survey methods, including being open to anyone, not requiring KU authentication and being shared only with specific groups.  

Faculty Senate President Misty Heggeness, who created the survey, responded by emphasizing her credentials and said KU’s arguments did not disqualify the vote.

“They are focused on defending with smoke-and-mirrors instead of actually listening to the feedback and working on improving relationships across the university,” she said. “These bully tactics are why people often will not speak up and we remain stuck.”

In announcing the vote, Heggeness said faculty had expressed uncertainty about KU’s financial relationship with KU Athletics and then-stalled union negotiations. Girod addressed both Tuesday. 

Girod said the university continues to value investing in KU Athletics, saying it is integral to KU’s identity and reputation. For years, KU Athletics made enough money to support the university with $15 million annual payments as reimbursements for the free tuition, scholarships and housing provided to student athletes. 

However, a settlement in a lawsuit last year allowed for the first time universities to pay athletes directly, capped at $20.5 million across all sports, adding budget pressures for athletic departments. In response, KU Athletics decided to cease those annual payments. KU’s general fund will lose out on that money, but no tax or tuition dollars will go to athletics, Girod said in the statement.

Girod said colleges can’t stay competitive without continually investing in facilities, from academic spaces to athletics. 

He said modern classrooms, labs and clinical spaces are critical for attracting students, faculty and funding, and KU plans to keep prioritizing those upgrades.

He said the Gateway District and stadium project are designed to be financially sustainable and boost the local economy, highlighting how it relied largely on private funding, athletics revenue and state economic development dollars. 

Some local development experts have criticized the project and its use of local tax incentives.   

Girod said KU has prioritized fair pay for employees, pointing to steps taken in recent years to improve salaries. He acknowledged ongoing issues like salary compression but says KU plans to address them in future budgets.

He also highlighted that all staff now meet a defined living wage, and an agreement with KU’s faculty union raised pay for the lowest-paid faculty. 

Union negotiations took nearly two years and union leaders repeatedly said KU administrators stalled the process. 

Girod and Mafi closed the statement by urging KU community members to “come together to address challenges in a way that builds trust.” He said KU’s next steps will not be without tension or disagreement. 

“It can, however, be grounded in shared facts, mutual respect, transparency and a common commitment to the students and communities we serve,” they said. “If we choose to approach one another in that spirit, KU will emerge from this moment stronger and better prepared to serve the next generation of Jayhawks and Kansans.”

Cuyler Dunn (he/him), a contributor to The Lawrence Times since April 2022, is a student at the University of Kansas School of Journalism. He is a graduate of Lawrence High School where he was the editor-in-chief of the school’s newspaper, The Budget, and was named the 2022 Kansas High School Journalist of the Year. Read his complete bio here. Read more of his work for the Times here.

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