Kasdin speaks to SACUA on finances

By Lisa Hoffman

Daily Staff Reporter

University Chief Financial Officer Robert Kasdin said yesterday that working with committees is like taking an "open book" exam.

Kasdin said he is inevitably aided in finding solutions to problems facing the University faculty and staff - most recently the University Board in Control of Intercollegiate Athletics.

Before diving into the faculty's concerns, mostly with the role of faculty on the Board in Control and Prescription Drug Workgroup 2002, Kasdin defined his role as University's top financial official.

"I have no say on faculty salaries," Kasdin said to the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs yesterday. "I am responsible for business and properties of the University."

With a $500 million budget and 3,000 people reporting to him, Kasdin said he has three roles: Monitoring the financial status of the University as a whole, running operations for long-term health of the University and making sure the University is in financial equilibrium.

"I think a lot of people were struck by the magnitude of the (financial) gains this year," Kasdin said of the University's gains as a whole this year. But over a long period of time, "I would not be surprised if we gave some of that back."

Kasdin also chaired a committee with other University community members looking at the financial status of the athletic department. Along with Deputy General Counsel Liz Barry, Education Prof. Percy Bates and Ann Arbor resident and University alum Bill Martin - who became athletic director in August, Kasdin continues to look at the faculty's role on the Board in Control of Intercollegiate Athletics as described in the bylaws of the University Board of Regents.

"When I look at where the committee thinks the relationship should be, I'm not sure it's going to be a lot more than stating how it runs," Kasdin said, of the committee's findings, which focused on issues from the athletic budget to the eligibility of student athletes.

SACUA member Don Deskins, a sociology professor, questioned the validity of the committee because the members' lack of time at the University, and argued that "the board hasn't been in the loop for the past year and a half."

"I would hope attention will focus on the merits of the committee's thoughts, not on who was or wasn't on the committee," Kasdin said, hoping that people will put aside their pre-conceptions when the committee releases their draft in the next few weeks. He said he also hopes for faculty involvement in discussions about the draft.

Robust discussion will also be key in decisions regarding Prescription Drug Workgroup 2002, he said.

"We hope to make a people-based decision," SACUA member and Nursing Prof. SeonAe Yeo said.

Prescription drug costs to the University continue to rise between 10 to 17 percent each year because of drug price increases from the companies, SACUA member and pathology Prof. Peter Ward said.

"Nobody has any magic solutions," he said, adding that costs will continue to rise.

By looking at drug use - including circumstances in which certain drugs are used and the use of generic brands - Kasdin said money saved from cutting costs would go back into the University's general fund.

The workgroup plans to bring their plans to public discussion in January.