02/12/10

BOISE, Idaho (AP) _ Idaho State University Provost Gary Olson
says campus committees have recommended sweeping changes to help the school emerge from the financial crisis with its
health-and-science mission intact.

In a letter to the campus Friday, Olson says the task forces
have been working since November to examine ways the university can consolidate and reorganize amid substantial losses in state
funding.

Idaho's public universities and colleges were ordered in
September to slash spending by another $15.2 million to help offset
shortfalls in state revenue. They now face the possibility of more
cuts.

Olson says ISU's restructuring plan, which would still need
approval from the state Board of Education, could save the
university an estimated $1 million to $1.5 million.

Among changes under the proposal, the university would bring the
college of pharmacy, school of nursing, school of rehabilitation
and communication, and the Kasiska School of Health Professions all
under one division.


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