Announcements

Gene Schutt named Associate Dean for Development

November 13, 2009

Eugene R. Schutt, Jr., a former financial services industry CEO with more than 30 years of global business experience, including 20 years at the executive leadership level, has been appointed associate dean for development in the University of Virginia’s College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

The appointment was announced today by Meredith Jung-En Woo, Buckner W. Clay Dean of Arts & Sciences.

“With his deep business background and strong ties to U.Va., Gene Schutt will be an outstanding leader to strengthen and broaden private support for Arts & Sciences,” Woo said. “As an alumnus and long-time University volunteer, he understands our school’s strengths and aspirations. I am delighted that he has chosen to serve his alma mater in this way.”

“It’s a great honor to be asked to serve the University at a time when economic stresses require new ideas,” said Schutt, who was most recently chairman, president and CEO of Citicorp Trust Bank, a Citigroup company. “As an alum, I view this opportunity as a call to service. It’s especially gratifying to be supporting Arts & Sciences where maintaining excellence in our faculty is at the core of our premier reputation.”

Schutt—who earned a bachelor's degree in economics from U.Va. in 1975—will oversee the Arts & Sciences development office, a group of fundraising professionals who are completing a $500 million capital funds campaign, part of the $3 billion Campaign for the University of Virginia.

Prior to his time at Citi, Schutt served as president of Avco Financial Services Inc., where he led international expansion in 10 countries and the successful turnaround of its U.S. operations. Previously he was president of Pratt Industries Inc., a multi-industry company and a leading producer of recycled paper and packaging materials.

Early in his career, Schutt managed subsidiary operations for the Philadelphia National Bank in Sydney, Australia, and in Hong Kong, where he had corporate lending, leasing and international trade finance responsibilities.

Schutt has been a 20-year member of the World Presidents’ Organization/Young Presidents’ Organization, and has served on the boards of the American Financial Services Association and the Financial Services Roundtable’s Housing Policy Council.

Robert Fatton leads Graduate School

July 31st, 2009

Dean Woo is pleased to announce that Robert Fatton, Jr., the Julia Allen Cooper Professor of Government and Foreign Affairs, is the new Associate Dean for Graduate Academic Programs. Robert follows Aaron Mills who led the Graduate School with distinction from 2006 until this summer.

Robert is known for the study of his native Haiti, as well as for his scholarship as an Africanist. He has written about civil society in Senegal and South Africa and draws many comparisons between the restive socio-political climates of Haiti and many African nations. He teaches courses on African politics, comparative government and political theory.

He is the author of several books and a large number of scholarly articles. His publications include: Black Consciousness in South Africa (1986); The Making of a Liberal Democracy: Senegal’s Passive Revolution, 1975-1985 (1987); Predatory Rule: State and Civil Society in Africa (1992); Haiti’s Predatory Republic: The Unending Transition to Democracy (2002); and The Roots of Haitian Despotism (2007). He is also co-editor with R. K. Ramazani of The Future of Liberal Democracy: Thomas Jefferson and the Contemporary World (2004); and, Religion, State, and Society (2009).

Born and raised in Port-au-Prince, and now an American citizen, Robert studied in the mid 1970s in France, later earning a bachelor’s degree from Goshen College, Indiana, in 1976. He holds masters and doctoral degrees from the University of Notre Dame. He joined the University of Virginia faculty in 1981.

He served two three-year terms as chair of the Politics department during the late 1990s and early 2000s and has been a member of the department’s graduate admissions committee. Robert is a faculty affiliate of the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies, and chairs its advisory board. He also has held many professional posts, including serving on the editorial boards of the Journal of African Policy Studies, the Journal of Politics, and the Journal of Haitian Studies.

Robert is no stranger to administrative service. His numerous contributions to the College include serving on search committees to select new deans of Arts & Sciences and several department chairs. He chaired the steering committee of the Arts & Sciences faculty, has participated in a variety of University-wide policy groups, and is a member of the search committee for the University’s next president.

Budget cuts will shape College for years

July 24th, 2009

President Casteen’s recent note to the University community about reductions in the University’s budget outlines a stark and difficult challenge for us in the coming weeks and months. The choices we make in the coming months will affect the College far beyond the immediate budget crisis. We must remain focused on our longer-term priorities in the face of the current financial constraints. It is my hope that we will continue to invest in a few selected areas, maintaining momentum, even as we pull back in others.

The budget gap is substantial. Given the continued declines in state revenues, the University has been asked to submit plans for additional budget reductions. The College has been directed by the Provost to develop a prioritized list of reductions totaling $5.8 million effective immediately for the 2009-10 fiscal year. This would reduce state support of the College’s operations from $97.1 million to $91.3 million. Beyond this, our financial planning had already identified a shortfall of approximately $1.1 million beginning in 2010-11, due largely to the decrease in endowment distributions we expect the Board of Visitors to adopt this fall. Including this additional amount, we must identify budget reductions of approximately $7 million. As you know, this latest round of cuts will be on top of $9 million in cuts during the last two fiscal years.

It is not yet clear how much the actual reduction will be. We will provide a list of $7 million in cuts in prioritized order with hopes that the final reduction will be a lesser amount. We have been asked to develop a plan for the cuts by the end of September. Given commitments already in place for 2009-10, we cannot meet the targeted reduction immediately through permanent budget cuts. Instead, we must identify opportunities for one-time savings and use of reserves to bridge the period until we can adopt permanent reductions.

A reduction of this magnitude cannot be addressed through cuts at the margins, particularly given the reductions already taken in recent years. I am mindful that the College’s budget is comprised largely of compensation, with less than $6 million of the current $97.1 million in state funding supporting non-personnel spending such as supplies, equipment, and travel. Eliminating an additional $7 million will require careful consideration of several large questions facing the College, including our position on future enrollment growth, overlap among academic and administrative programs, the size of faculty and graduate programs, strategies to bolster other sources of revenue, and areas in which we should continue to invest during the downturn. Everything must be on the table for consideration as we consider our options.

Last year, we partnered actively and substantively with departments in arriving at the strategies for achieving the previous round of cuts. We will do so again this time. I am also appointing an advisory group drawn from the faculty to advise me on some of the fundamental questions and tradeoffs. While the weeks and months ahead will entail considerable analysis and discussion, there are a few actions we will take immediately:

• We will defer all searches and hiring that have not yet reached the stage of making an offer to a candidate. Beyond grant-funded positions, exceptions to this “hiring freeze” will be rare and will require approval of the dean.
• We will defer making new commitments from discretionary or reserve funds available to the dean. We encourage departments to do the same with funds under their discretion, accumulating a general balance that could be used to bridge budget reductions in the near term until permanent cuts can be made.
• We will communicate with you on a regular basis as more is understood about the College’s budgetary situation and as decisions are made.

I regret that I do not have more definitive information to share with you about where we will achieve the budget reductions, as I recognize that such uncertainty presents considerable stress and strain. I have asked associate deans to develop a list of areas for consideration during the next couple of weeks as we await further directions and guidance from the Provost. Shortly thereafter, most likely in late July or early August, we will commence discussions with individual departments, programs, and units about the opportunities and implications for additional budget cuts in their areas.

These are trying times, with the reality of yet another budget cut threatening morale and aspirations. I have been impressed greatly during my first year by the commitment and spirit of the College community in remaining focused on what matters most and developing creative ways to accomplish our goals. Thank you for your continued support, energy and understanding.