From March 2015: Our one-on-one interview with SIU President, Randy Dunn and hear why he says after years of cutting back, the future of Illinois universities are now at risk, and how cutbacks also threaten the Southern IL economy.
SIU is the largest employer in South of Springfield, with campuses in Carbondale, Edwardsville, and a Medical School in Springfield.
This interview is a opportunity to hear of the challenges facing a university president, that struggles to cover the operating expenses of the university, when so many financial accounts the university has are restrictd to specific purposes, like scholarships. This means the university may appear to outsiders to have far more money for operations, than is the case.
When the state of Illinois cut back drastically in its support for higher education, the availability of “unrestricted funds” was greatly reduced.
And when THIS interview was conducted in March, 2015 — President Dunn could not know that a full-year state budget, would not be passed for another 2 1/2 years.
