Southern Seminary facing budget shortfall

[Crabtownboy]

By Bob Allen
Tuesday, 16 December 2008
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) -- The head of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is predicting layoffs and tuition increases to manage a $3 million budget shortfall.

President Al Mohler said in a Dec. 15 letter to the seminary community that cost-saving measures -- including a hiring freeze on non-essential positions and reduced travel -- have already trimmed the Southern Baptist Convention school's budget by $1.7 million.

That leaves a projected $800,000 to $1.5 million in further reductions projected over the next several months. Mohler said that would likely mean a reduction in the seminary's workforce and increasing tuition to boost revenue.

Mohler pledged "to do our very best to limit tuition increases" as a way to keep theological education affordable to as many ministers as possible.

Mohler attributed the shortfall to significant losses in the value of the seminary's endowed funds. He also said the school projects annual gift levels this year to be lower than usual and has been advised by denominational leaders to expect economic forces to eventually show up in reduced giving through the SBC.

Prior to the shortfall, Southern Seminary's 2008-2009 budget was $36,947,000. Just less than 40 percent of the school's income comes from tuition and fees. Nine percent is drawn from endowment revenue and 27 percent from the SBC's unified budget, called the Cooperative Program.

Mohler said work will continue on a 14,000 square-foot Welcome Pavilion under construction at the front entrance to the seminary's campus; it is designed to house admissions and the campus-security office. He also said other capital projects that are already funded and under contract will go forward, but all future building projects are on hold.

He said the current nation's economic challenge will likely be measured not in months but instead over the next two to five years.

http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3716&Itemid=53

More and more agencies in trouble. Sad news ... all over the world. The seminary here in Prague is also facing financial shortfalls.

 

[donnA]

Our interim is a professor at Southern, no wonder he is cutting costs for his family.

 

[rbell]

Forgive me for flashes of the obvious...I'm probably the last one to think of stuff like this:

I went to SBTS years ago (didn't finish there...I was hit by an uninsured motorist, and was broke, & couldn't afford to be there. I left, got on my feet, and ended up finishing at Southwestern since they had an accelerated MDiv that let me take 18 less hours).

Anyhoo...from all the colleges/higher ed institutions I ever went to...they all send me letters asking for $$. And I realized: most colleges have alums that go on to be filthy rich, and they are able to endow some nice stuff.

Seminaries, in training ministers, are training primarily middle class to lower-middle class alums. Folks like me are making it just fine, but we don't have disposable incomes in the thousands to just give away. If I were to send them a donation, it would be two figures (maybe three on a good month, or if I did without). I'm sure that kind of statistic adds up significantly.

Like I said...I'm probably the only one that hasn't thought about that.

 

[Martin]

http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3716&Itemid=53

More and more agencies in trouble. Sad news ... all over the world. The seminary here in Prague is also facing financial shortfalls.

==Southern Seminary is not alone. I know the UNC system is cutting back as are the North Carolina Community Colleges (my employer). The college I teach at has reverted around 4-5% of its 08-09 budget to the State of North Carolina. There are no more trips, no endless copying, no new fancy equipment for our "smart" classrooms, and all open positions are frozen. They are saying that such cuts are temporary and that things should be better in 09-10. The good thing for me is that I am already on the schedule for 09-10. However if things don't get better soon I would not be surprised to see some faculty layoffs and "retirements".


As for SBTS, I am not surprised. SWBTS made a simular announcement. However I am concerned that Mohler said construction on a "14,000 square-foot Welcome Pavilion under construction at the front entrance to the seminary's campus" will continue. If they are having to lay people off all construction should stop. Continuing to build a fancy "welcome pavilioni" while having to strip people of their jobs is tacky. I think many of these seminaries waste good money building fancy buildings. There is nothing wrong with having a nice campus but some of these construction projects are not necessary.

 

[billwald]

Half the people in college should not be there

Several years ago happenstance put me next to the president of a well respected Baptist seminary at the lunch table. He told me that half his students were not qualified to be pastors.

This applies to most colleges. The sad state of education in the US is such that most kids need 2 years of college to get a high school education. Yes, there are exceptions but I suspect that half the exceptions go to private schools or are home schooled.

Further, years ago when the "The Bell Curve" was published, it noted that fundamentalist Christians are under represented in Corporate board rooms and the Episcopal Church is over represented.

 

[Timsings]

. . . I am concerned that Mohler said construction on a "14,000 square-foot Welcome Pavilion under construction at the front entrance to the seminary's campus" will continue. If they are having to lay people off all construction should stop. Continuing to build a fancy "welcome pavilioni" while having to strip people of their jobs is tacky. I think many of these seminaries waste good money building fancy buildings. There is nothing wrong with having a nice campus but some of these construction projects are not necessary.

If this work is "continuing", then that means that it has already been contracted. It likely cannot be stopped without the seminary having to pay off the entire contract. Because of this, those funds cannot used to save any jobs. They are already committed.

Tim Reynolds