July 20, 2020

Dear SJSU faculty and staff, 

Over the past few months, our SJSU community has continued to persist through times of uncertainties and disruptions. I appreciate your resilience and adaptability and thank you for your continued support of our university and each other.

My last message regarding California State University’s (CSU) outlook on the state’s 2020-21 budget which cut $299 million to the CSU system and its potential impacts can be read here. Today, I am sharing a message from CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White that outlines a course of actions to address this deficit.

In short, Chancellor White highlights a multiyear plan to mitigate budget shortfalls by making a very difficult decision to authorize each campus to proceed with some layoffs and a spending down of discretionary reserves over the next three years. His decision took into account input from all 23 campus presidents, system administrators, and other stakeholders.

As SJSU assesses its own budget challenges, we will do our best to protect our employees’ job stability. We will work through our understanding of anticipated revenues and shortfalls. We also will be evaluating what portion of discretionary reserves to use with prudence and as directed by the Chancellor’s planning for a potential three-year financial and operational challenge that lies ahead for our state, the CSU, and our university.

At this time, we expect to share more detailed information about SJSU’s 2020-21 budget including any decisions about potential layoffs in the coming weeks. 

As a reminder, I will be hosting two town hall meetings (July 23 and 28) to discuss and answer questions on the rollout of SJSU Adapt, the university’s plans for fall 2020. As I can imagine the many concerns and questions you may have, I along with my leadership team will be available to take your questions. The first session will be held Thursday, July 23, at 9:00 a.m. Pacific time. More details and registration information are available here.

SJSU has overcome many difficulties and hardships since its beginning. I deeply appreciate your patience and resolve as we navigate this period together.

Sincerely,

Dr. Mary A. Papazian

President