by ANNE BAKER
News Editor

The decline of the economy and its effect on Appalachian State University was discussed in depth during the University Forum Nov. 24.

The forum, held in Plemmons Student Union, provided interested individuals the opportunity to ask questions or raise concerns in regards to the university.

While several other issues outside the economy were a topic of conversation, Chancellor Kenneth E. Peacock spent a large portion of the forum addressing university funding and budget cuts.

“You read these articles [about the economy] and it gets frightening when you read this,” he said. “…[economists in these articles] say a serious recession has set in and it’s not over yet. They project that we haven’t seen the bottom of that at this particular point.”

The problems with the economy and the threat of recession have resulted in a decrease in the university’s budget and the amount of project funding Appalachian will receive.

“Until about two weeks ago, we had received nothing in writing from [the University of North Carolina] General Administration saying that [Appalachian’s] so-called cut or the amount [Appalachian has] to hold back was anything at all,” Peacock said.

He said earlier in the year, there was a set plan in place and things “were looking good.”

Yet this plan experienced a set back later on when economic troubles began to surface.

“Word began to come out that the state [was] not going to have the cash load it thought it would have,” Peacock said. 

The university first heard a 2 percent cut would be in effect; however, Peacock said the cut had an end result of 4 percent.

“We have tried to prepare for [the cuts] the best that we can,” Peacock said. “We haven’t had to go through what some of these other schools have in South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.”

Budget cuts and a lack of funding have the potential to severely affect jobs and programs at Appalachian.

However, Peacock said it is a top priority to protect academic programs at all costs and maintain every job that the university possibly can.

“We haven’t come out with any kind of policy [here] that says to slash positions or freeze any kind of hiring at all,” he said.

Appalachian has a strong relationship with elected officials in Raleigh, Peacock said.

“They understand the importance of public higher education and they wanted to give us [funding],” he said. “They passed that budget and we fought hard for full funding for enrollment growth and for our planning dollars.”

Currently, however, the future does not point in an entirely positive direction.

“The projections I’m reading do not indicate to me that next year will be a better year at all for us,” Peacock said. “So my whole strategy is to try to get everything I can for Appalachian at this point in time from whatever pot is there.”

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