Could we possibly have more administration at the University of Minnesota than we need?

Say it isn't so, President Bruininks!

From the Daily:

Bruininks said the projected $426 million deficit for the current biennium could mean cuts in money that is already committed to the University. An evenly distributed cut to the state budget would mean $17 million in cuts to the University’s current 2008 and 2009 budget.

More concerning, he said, is the $4.8 billion dollar deficit projected for the 2010-11 biennium. That’s about 14 percent of the state’s budget, and with $700 million of the University’s $1.2 billion budget coming from the state, the University could be facing big cuts.

Bruininks said the University needs to reduce costs not needed to support academics.

“I think we have more administration than we need,” he said. “We need to simplify processes … and ask whether we need all the administration at all the levels.”

He said it’s too early to predict how big any cuts will be, or if there will be any cuts to the University’s budget, and he cautioned that there would be tough choices to make in the future.

Yes, we have too many administrators. You told us to be lean and mean and now we learn that we have too many administrators! Whose fault, exactly, is that? Many of the big wheels have what they call a "chief of staff." This is almost funny except for the expense. We also recently hired a new administrator at the associate dean level. Previously the position was half-time, but the replacement is full-time. This kind of administrative creep goes on all the time...

And then of course there is the ludicrous: "ambitious aspiration to be one of the top three public research universities in the world [sic]." Give it a rest, Bob. A long, long rest.

More U Park? Driven to Discover? Ditto.