Friday October 5, 2001

Money set aside for new fund-raising software lost to offset budget cuts

Campaign Arizona - a $1 billion university fundraiser which has raised more than $600 million in cash and pledges since 1997 - has agreed to contribute $1 million to the UA in an effort to offset a $13.8 million cut in state funding.

"The primary consequence of pulling back that million dollars is that we planned on using about half of that money for the development of software for an improved database for funds," University of Arizona President Peter Likins said. "And we don't have an up-to-date system for keeping track of all of our benefactors."

The announcement to give back the money is the third in a series of university cutbacks, which are a response to Gov. Jane Dee Hull's recently proposed budget cuts.

UA officials have already announced a temporary hiring freeze that will last until at least Dec. 1, and cuts have also been announced in money allocated for advising.

"This is another cut with a consequence," Likins said. "We're stumbling along with some old software that's been patched and patched and patched."

The money is a combination of money generated from UA dollars, UA Foundation contributions and tax money. The UA Foundation oversees the campaign.

Dave Templin, who oversees computer support for the UA Foundation, said the software would have been used to manage funds, but the success of the campaign is not contingent on the new equipment.

"As much as it pains me to send it back," he said, "it is money that we can make available for the budget cuts."

Templin said officials were still in the beginning stages of locating and purchasing software to replace the dated resources they are now using, and the software would most likely have impacted the future campaign, as opposed to the current Campaign Arizona.

He said the software will still be purchased eventually, but that right now, giving the money back was the right thing to do for the university.

"We have not abandoned our billion dollar campaign goal," Likins said. "When the economy recovers, we will reclaim private as well as public funds to sustain our university."

Campaign Arizona is set to culminate in July 2005.