^ 
 
 The University of Illinois and 
 Its Financial Program 
 
 The University of Illinois is one of the great universi- 
 ties of the United States. In the character of its work, 
 its past achievements, and in the tremendous possibili- 
 ties which exist here for further con- 
 
 The University tributions to educational, cultural, 
 
 as a State scientific and other phases of social 
 
 Developmental ... , ., , . , 
 
 progress, it is one of the best and 
 
 most comprehensive examples of the 
 place and function of the state university. That it enjoys 
 such distinction is due to the interest of the pe&pl-e of . 
 Illinois who, through their representatives in the ■State' 
 Government, have supplied the financial resources nec- 
 essary to carry on this educational enterprise; to State 
 officials themselves for their vision and public-spirited 
 attitude toward the University; and to the Trustees and 
 Faculty of the University for its development. Altogether 
 aside from the education it provides for thousands of 
 young men and women to prepare them for the various 
 professions of life, aside from the scientific achievements 
 of members of its Faculty which, in some instances, 
 have been worth many times the entire cost of the 
 institution, the University of Illinois performs a public 
 service which cannot be measured in numbers of stu- 
 dents educated or dollars saved. It is simply this: these 
 thousands of students, while here, receive cultural stimu- 
 lation and develop ideals which are bound to make bet- 
 ter and more useful citizens of them when they return 
 to their home communities. These influences they pass 
 on to others with whom they associate, and thus the 
 University indirectly affects many people who have never 
 even had an opportunity to visit its campus. 
 
 What the University of Illinois has done in these 
 respects is but a small beginning of what it can do in 
 future years. Its geographical location makes it a logical 
 center of culture here in the heart of the Mississippi 
 Valley. Here in Illinois is the center of population, of 
 industry and agriculture, of land and air transportation, 
 and of inland waterways. Some philosophers and scholars 
 have expressed the view that the Mississippi Valley has 
 possibilities of becoming the center of a new American cul- 
 ture. If this is destined to occur the University has an op- 
 portunity to give direction and inspiration to this cultural 
 development. It has already shown by its research work 
 what it can do for agriculture and the industries. 
 
 The same forces which have made the University 
 
 what it is today drive it to newer achievements. It must 
 continue its normal development at least, if it is to oc- 
 cupy the high place it holds. No educational institution 
 can hold its prestige by simply marking time. It is not 
 necessary that its enrollment must necessarily continue to 
 increase; there is an ultimate limit to expansion in that 
 direction. Development is not limited to expansion of 
 quarters or new buildings, although some of that is es- 
 sential to an institution even after its enrollment has 
 passed its peak. Rather, development in an educational 
 institution, in addition to physical expansion and improve- 
 ment, means improving the quality of its work, and re- 
 adjusting its activities so that it can successfully contend 
 with the changing social forces which our increasingly 
 complex civilization creates. It must develop and modify 
 its curricula as the needs for them change, it must re- 
 tain and attract good men in order to make itself more 
 and more useful as an instrument for the advancement 
 of human intelligence and welfare. No institution of the 
 size of the University of Illinois can accomplish this 
 without the cooperation of the Faculty and Trustees in 
 the common enterprise, and the confidence of the public. 
 
 Like many other institutions of higher education the 
 University of Illinois suffered from the pressure of war 
 conditions. The cost of operation and of building had 
 increased tremendously. Following the 
 History of war, in 1919 and 1920, the enrollment of 
 
 the , r the University increased 30 per cent over 
 University's the max i mum enrollment immediately 
 Program before the war. This produced a very 
 
 acute situation, due to the fact that dur- 
 ing the war there had been very little expansion, either 
 in a physical way or in additions to the faculty. 
 
 In 1920 a committee of some of the most responsible 
 administrative officials in the University was appointed 
 to study the situation and to recommend a financial policy 
 that would gradually relieve the University of its em- 
 barrassment. This committee met at least once a week 
 for a period of eight months, studying conditions and 
 considering various solutions from the points of view of 
 the University and the general public. 
 
 The report of this committee formed a basis for the 
 University's financial policy adopted by the Board of 
 Trustees in 1921 and approved by the Legislature. This 
 
plan provided for total appropriations of $10,500,000 every 
 two years throughout a series of four or five biennial 
 periods. Beginning with 1921 it was proposed that 
 $2,500,000 of this total would be expended for buildings 
 and other permanent improvements, and $8,000,000 for 
 operation. In each succeeding biennium $500,000 was to 
 be transferred from the building side to the operating 
 side of the budget on the sound theory that as new build- 
 ings are constructed the expenses of operation increase. 
 It was generally understood that this was a ten-year plan, 
 although the Trustees could not foresee what conditions 
 would arise during that period and could not, therefore, 
 guarantee that this amount would be sufficient. Never- 
 theless it was their hope that they would be able to go 
 through a period of eight or ten years without the neces- 
 sity of asking for any increase and at the end of that time 
 the Legislature could take up anew the question of future 
 financial support for the University. 
 
 This plan suffered a setback of two years in 1921 be- 
 cause, while the Legislature approved by unanimous vote 
 the full amount of $10,500,000 requested, the sum of 
 $1,640,000 was finally cut out of the budget. Since 1923 
 the Legislature has approved the full amount asked and 
 the plan has been carried out. 
 
 In the meantime a situation developed in the College 
 of Medicine which made it necessary for the University 
 io put up to the Legislature a proposal for relief in that 
 quarter. For a number of years the University has not 
 been able to accommodate in its medical school all duly 
 qualified residents of Illinois who have applied for ad- 
 mission simply because it did not have sufficient class- 
 room, laboratory and hospital facilities. This has resulted 
 in a good deal of dissatisfaction throughout the State 
 and consequently the University was under a great deal 
 of pressure during the last seven or eight years to seek 
 funds to secure adequate quarters. To relieve the situation, 
 the University in 1929 took advantage of a temporary 
 decrease in the enrollment of the College of Dentistry, 
 due to a change in the entrance requirements, by pro- 
 viding space for medical students in the Dentistry Build- 
 ing. This made it possible to admit 40 per cent more 
 students in the first year medical classes. It was clear, 
 however, that when these enlarged classes enter upon 
 the third and fourth, or clinical, years additional class- 
 room and laboratory space would be needed by 1931. So 
 in 1929 the Trustees proposed to the Legislature that it 
 restore $1,500,000 of the $1,640,000 which was cut out in 
 1921 in order to provide for the first unit of a classroom 
 and laboratory building for the Colleges of Medicine and 
 Dentistry. Thus the appropriation passed in 1929 was 
 not an actual increase or a departure from the plan. The 
 
 difference between the apparent increase was almost the 
 identical sum that was cut out of the first bill, thus con- 
 firming the accuracy of the original plan, which, except 
 for the loss of the amount cut out of the first bill in 
 1921, has worked very well. Experience has shown that 
 $10,500,000 each biennium would have sufficed for the 
 full ten-year period. It is expected this first unit of the 
 new medical building will be ready for use in September, 
 1931. 
 
 Since 1923 the Legislature, of its own accord, has been 
 appropriating as a separate measure funds ranging from 
 $20,000 to $30,000 biennially for a small agricultural ex- 
 periment station in Cook County for the benefit of vege- 
 table growers. In 1927 the Legislature, of its own accord, 
 again, appropriated $30,000 for the establishment of a 
 School of Journalism which provision has since been added 
 to the University's biennial budget. 
 
 Financial provisions adequate to maintain the develop- 
 ment of the University of Illinois are simply an investment 
 by the State in its own future citizenship. The so-called 
 ten-year program has actually been 
 The Budget carried out without any real increase in 
 for 1931-33 funds during that time except, as stated 
 
 above, for the addition by the Legislature 
 itself of $30,000 for a School of Journalism, and funds for 
 the Cook County Experiment Station. The Trustees could 
 easily justify a new enlarged program in view of the 
 growth of the University's student body during the past 
 ten years and the increased demands upon it for new 
 lines of work. Instead, the Trustees feel that because of 
 economic conditions the University should, for the present, 
 confine itself to the maintenance of its present activities. 
 The financial program for 1931-33 is designed to insure 
 such development, yet it is a conservative one, represent- 
 ing an actual decrease of a quarter of a million dollars 
 from the total of 1929. I want briefly to explain what this 
 budget is and the reasons which have led to its adoption. 
 Therefore I present below the current budget side by side 
 with that proposed for the next biennium: 
 
 State Appro- 
 priation for Proposed 
 1929-31 for 1931-33 
 Operating (per year) (per year) 
 
 Salaries and Wages $ 3,515,000 $ 3,675,000 
 
 Office Expense, including printing and pub- 
 lications 150,000 150,000 
 
 Travel 35,000 35,000 
 
 Operation 485,000 500,000 
 
 Repairs 160,000 165,000 
 
 Equipment 290,000 315,000 
 
 Permanent Improvements 130,000 100,000 
 
 Total per year $ 4,765,000 $ 4,940,000 
 
 Total biennium $ 9,530,000 $ 9,880,000 
 
 liuiUlini/s- 
 
 Total biennium 2,500,000 1,900,000 
 
 Grand total for biennium $12,030,000 $11,780,000 
 
Budget for 
 1931-33 
 
 We are asking only $1,900,000 for building purposes in 
 the coming biennium. The $350,000 increase in the total 
 of the operating funds is essential in order to provide 
 for necessary additions to the teaching 
 The Operating an( j research staff, to replace worn out 
 equipment and to provide for the ad- 
 ditional cost of operation and mainte- 
 nance in general due to the increased enrollment and the 
 enlarged physical plant which this growth requires. During 
 the last decade the enrollment of the University has in- 
 creased more than 53 per cent in the Urbana departments 
 and 100 per cent in the Chicago departments. Within the 
 past two years this increase has amounted to almost 600 
 which is about the size of the average small college ! In 
 other words, while the University asked for a total of 
 $10,500,000 ten years ago when it had a total of 9,493 
 students in all departments, it now has 14,896 students, a 
 total increase of 57 per cent; but it is asking for total 
 appropriations for the next two years of $11,780,000, an 
 increase of only about 12 per cent over the appropriation 
 requested in 1921 and an actual decrease from that of two 
 years ago ! 
 
 We are proposing an increase of only $350,000, instead 
 of $500,000, on the operating side of the budget, despite 
 the fact that the needs of the medical unit in Chicago 
 necessitate a larger operating increase at this time. This 
 unit will move into enlarged quarters next fall and is in 
 the midst of a program of development which involves the 
 reorganization of and addition to its work. In addition 
 to the normal expansion of the school due to the increased 
 enrollment it has long had responsibilities in orthopedic 
 surgery and in psychiatry, the support of which are not yet 
 on a stable basis. There must also be reorganization in at 
 least two departments and the administrative work of the 
 College of Medicine. In spite of economies I believe the in- 
 creased expenditures for the College of Medicine will con- 
 siderably exceed $100,000 for the biennium. Slight in- 
 creases in the tuition of the school have also been adopted, 
 effective in September. It is only by the methods in- 
 dicated above that I am able to see how we can take care 
 of the operating needs of the College of Medicine without 
 unduly cramping the development of the departments at 
 Urbana. The addition of $350,000 to our operating budget 
 for the biennium, is, therefore, essential. 
 
 It was generally understood in 1929 that $1,500,000 
 would not be sufficient to rehouse the Colleges of Medicine 
 and Dentistry but that it would be necessary to secure an 
 appropriation for a second unit in 1931. It may be neces- 
 sary as the years go on to add still a third, and perhaps 
 even a fourth, unit to the medical plant, but that will have 
 to be decided on the basis of conditions some years from 
 now. In the meantime the appropriation for this second 
 
 unit will enable the University to meet some of the most 
 acute needs of the Chicago departments. 
 
 The building program therefore includes $1,400,000 for 
 building's in Chicago and $500,000 for use on the Urbana 
 Campus. The Trustees are asking for $1,400,000 instead 
 of $1,500,000 because it seems that by this decrease of 
 $100,000 in buildings we can most fairly meet the largely- 
 increased operating needs of the College of Medicine. This 
 increase can be borne in this way with less hardship than 
 in any other. This amount of $1,400,000 would be devoted 
 to the construction of laboratory and teaching quarters 
 for Medicine and Dentistry and to the construction, if 
 possible, of a clinical building and an assembly hall. It 
 is doubtful whether the rehousing program can be finished 
 with the indicated sum, but many of the pressing needs 
 of the College of Medicine will have been met. 
 
 In order to make this construction in Chicago possible 
 we are holding back to a minimum the building program 
 in Urbana. There are still plenty of building needs but 
 what has seemed the wisest thing, after a good deal of 
 consideration, is to take one single step during this bien- 
 nium in a program which has been planned to cover a 
 series of years. This calls for the relocation of the agri- 
 cultural laboratories, both because they are inadequate 
 and unsafe, and because the vacated space can be re- 
 modeled to house some of the scientific departments of 
 our Liberal Arts and Sciences group, thus consolidating 
 this work in a central location and providing for its normal 
 expansion. 
 
 Both the Trustees and I would have been glad had it 
 seemed possible to go farther at this time. A variety of 
 requests have come to us from outside, the totals of which 
 would have increased our proposed budget very largely. In 
 addition to these, there are numerous internal developments 
 that, desirable as they are, must wait. However, the budget 
 for 1931-33 includes no extraordinary requests. Only es- 
 sentials have been included and the budget as submitted 
 to the Legislature represents a decrease of $250,000 be- ^ 
 cause the State is faced with serious financial problems 
 due to decreases in general revenue and the University 
 wants to do its share to help meet this situation. Actually 
 this reduction would seriously hamper the University's 
 work and it is necessary to off-set it by a slight increase 
 in incidental fees in the Urbana departments. 
 
 So far as present economic conditions are concerned, ■ 
 institutions for higher education, like the University of 
 Illinois, keep on growing, even though business conditions 
 are not of the best. I certainly hope it may not be neces- 
 sary to repeat what most of the institutions in the country 
 went through just after the war. In other words, if the 
 institutions start falling behind in financial support again, 
 as they did just after the war, there is going to be the 
 
same sort of difficulty in catching up, and in the mean- 
 time the quality of their teaching and research work 
 will be impaired. As soon as present conditions improve 
 somewhat, judging from the general experience of 
 ten and eleven years ago, the strain which will be 
 caused by refinancing institutions which have been 
 obliged to practice retrenchment is going to be greater 
 than if they are able to maintain their important 
 activities without curtailment through the period of 
 depression. 
 
 The University's financial program for 1931-33 was 
 adopted after months of study of its needs from all 
 points of view, careful consideration being given to 
 present business conditions. I feel confident that any 
 group of citizens who would take the time and trouble 
 to study the situation carefully would say that the 
 budget is extremely conservative under the circum- 
 stances. It is one behind which Trustees, Alumni and 
 other friends of the University can all stand and about 
 which we shall be glad to answer any questions. 
 
 c 
 
 The Financial Program 
 
 of the 
 
 University of Illinois 
 
 1931-33 
 
 A Message from the 
 President of the Uni- 
 versity, Dr. Harry 
 Woodburn Chase