Under the proposed state budget for the next biennium, UT could lose 16.5 percent of its funding compared to the 2010-11 biennium, according to an email President William Powers Jr. sent Wednesday.

“This represents a $92.1 million decrease in funding for the 2012-2013 biennium compared to 2010-2011,” Powers said in the email.

He said if the budget is finalized, the departments and schools will have to make some painful adjustment and changes they were already anticipating.

“The cost of group insurance may increase, and there may be revisions to annual deductible amounts and co-payments. The employer contribution to retirement plans could also be affected,” Powers said in
the email.

He said the University does not know how the budget will impact the salaries of faculty members at UT and it is something that has yet to be discussed.

Mary Knight, associate vice president and budget director, said the budget cuts will impact the entire campus. Each vice president and each school at UT has developed a budget reduction plan to minimize harm to students and faculty members, but academic and research areas could feel the effects of cuts, she said. Special item areas such as the Institute of Geophysics could face a significant shortfall and may have to reduce research funding, she said.

Knight said until the budget is finalized and passed, nothing is set in stone.