From Aron’s Desk

Friends, 

This week, Town Hall was our annual financial presentation to the university community. Gavin Farry, EVP for Finance and Administration, went through successes from last year’s budget, and provided some lessons for this year’s budget. The last fiscal year (July 1, 2025-June 30, 2026) went well thanks to the hard work and sacrifices our people made in prior years. The most obvious sacrifice was the reduction in the university’s retirement match a couple of years ago. The retirement match is still good (8%), but it is two percent less than before. At the time, we promised to put some money back when we could, and I am happy we were able to do that this year.

The hard work resulted in more revenue. We had an uptick in research grants, an increase in capital grants, and our enrollment went up. Increasing enrollment is not as simple as opening the door for institutions. Our people were incredibly innovative over the last year and a half leading to our Early Start success. 

Many of our peer institutions are not doing as well. Of late, there has been plenty of bad news in higher education. In the last year or so, several area colleges and universities have been in the news over enrollment shortfalls, financial exigencies, and layoffs. There are a number of phenomena underlying these struggles: a smaller population of college-age people, federal policy changes inhibiting international student attendance, the perception that AI will reduce jobs in some fields, and federal cuts to grants and educational support. We are not immune to these forces, and inflation in everything from healthcare to fuel has made budgeting a challenge that complicates any financial struggles faced by institutions and families. 

The coming year will also be a challenge to all clinical enterprises that care for uninsured and underinsured people like we do. As last year’s federal cuts become financial exigency for families whose Medicaid and ACA subsidies are cut, the safety net institutions around them will see increases in uninsured people in their emergency rooms and clinics. The cut in ACA supported coverage is particularly taxing, because the people in the ACA have commercial insurance, which pays better than Medicaid. So ACA cuts have a bigger financial impact per person than Medicaid cuts do.

We enter into these turbulent waters in relatively good shape. Our teams have been proactive and planned well. Early Start was remarkably successful and yielded a significant increase in our enrollment, while we have worked to keep costs down. One hope of our early start is that it will help students academically and allow them to move through their programs in less time, saving them money and increasing our capacity. Like everyone else, we have additional costs to control. As an example, we have a four-year contract for electricity, which creates budget stability, and we were fortunate to sign the contract a couple of weeks before the war in Iran and the energy cost spikes that have followed.

We are a tuition-dependent institution, so we pay a lot of attention to matriculating and graduating students. I’ve had the chance to get an update from each dean about the start of in-person classes following our mostly online Early Start. Orientation, move-in, and the start of classes have gone very well. No sooner are we through with move-in than we are already talking about next year’s matriculating class. We are already looking at a larger number of applicants for next year than at the same time last year. This speaks so well to the work of our people and the strength of our programs. 

Yesterday, I was delighted to announce Nara Parameswaran, BVSc, MS, PhD as our new executive vice president for research (EVPR). Eagle-eyed readers (and that BVSc is a veterinary degree) will notice that Nara and I have worked together in the past. He brings a remarkable combination of experience in research management, program growth, and faculty development at scale to our university. He has been a great partner to student research and community partnerships; most importantly, I know he will work well with the people here. I signed my RFU contract about a year ago, and ever since I have been impressed by the leadership team here at RFU. Dr. Parameswaran will fit in well and build on our strengths.

I want to thank Dr. Janice Urban for stepping into the EVPR role since this past winter. She has jumped in and done difficult work calmly, thoughtfully, and collaboratively. I know from much experience that interim roles can be difficult, and she has been nothing short of excellent! Thank you, Jan!

At the start of the school year, and the close of the fiscal year, we can be proud and optimistic because of our many great programs and the work of our staff, faculty, and students across our missions. This is a remarkable university. I hope you feel good about what we have accomplished in support of our students, patients, and the communities we serve.

Improving the health of all people with you, 

Aron