ALBUQUERQUE — The University of New Mexico will start a voluntary furlough program for employees in anticipation of state budget cuts for the coming fiscal year.

The program is one of several directives UNM President David Schmidly is slated to issue Monday, the Albuquerque Journal reported in a copyright story Sunday.

Unlike mandatory furloughs at other universities, like Arizona State University, UNM's will be open to any employees who wish to take unpaid leave.

"At the present time, based on what we're hearing, we don't feel that a mandatory furlough is necessary," Schmidly said.

He said it's too early to project how much money UNM might save from the furlough program and other initiatives.

Schmidly also is calling for a change in how he and Executive Vice President David Harris are paid. Under his plan, only $150,000 of their salaries would come from the state and tuition.

The rest would come from other university operations, like the Health Sciences Center and the UNM Foundation.

Schmidly's call for changing the way he and Harris are paid comes as faculty are moving forward with a possible no-confidence vote on Schmidly, Harris and regent President Jamie Koch.

Schmidly also plans to continue the partial hiring freeze currently in place, limits on travel, a small surcharge on athletic tickets to help pay for academic services for student athletes, a 5 percent reduction in main campus administrative spending and delaying capital expenditures where possible.




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