The University’s midyear cut projection more than doubled from $2.2 million to $5.1 million Monday, according to Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Jack Hamilton.
The original $2.2 million was required by the Division of Administration in the Governor’s Office.
The budget reduction helps fill a $108 million deficit in last year’s state budget, much of which will be covered by higher education.
Hamilton said the University’s budget has been cut $47 million in the last 22 months as of Monday.
If the cuts continue at this rate, Hamilton said the University has 67 months until it runs out of money.
An e-mail from LSU System President John Lombardi to System chancellors said the LSU System Office received “additional guidance” about the management of the midyear budget reduction.
“The midyear budget reduction allocation distribution to all post-secondary education is a result of the directive that only $12.5 million could come from the state-defined teaching institutions,” Lombardi said in the e-mail.
The teaching institutions were assigned a 1.6-percent cut, and non-teaching institutions were assigned a 13.3-percent cut, according to the e-mail.
The LSU System received a higher portion of the entire midyear cut to higher education than the other systems because more of the LSU System entities do not qualify as teaching institutions.
“The LSU System was assigned $21.2 million as its share of the midyear reduction to all post-secondary education,” Lombardi said in the e-mail. “This amounts to 4.9 percent of the LSU System’s state general funds. This allocation is the largest of any system of higher education as the other systems range from 1.7 percent to 2.3 percent.”
The LSU System has more non-teaching units than the other systems, and their cuts totaled $16.1 million, according to the e-mail. The system’s non-teaching units include the LSU AgCenter, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, E.A. Conway Hospital, Huey P. Long Hospital, Shreveport Hospital and the LSU System Office.
“It became clear that the consequences of this distribution to the non-teaching units would be a  significant reduction in the functions of all units in this group,” Lombardi said. “In the case of Ag and Pennington, it would require the dismissal of tenured and contract faculty and the reduction or elimination of many critical programs, as well as the loss of federal research grants.
To soften the blow to the LSU AgCenter and Pennington Biomedical Research Center, $7.3 million was taken from their cuts and divided among the other System units.
The additional $2.7 million cut brought the total to $5.1 million in midyear reductions to the LSU-Baton Rouge campus.
Lombardi said he has asked the chair of the Board of Supervisors to schedule a special meeting to approve the changes in the allocations of the midyear cuts.
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Contact Catherine Threlkeld at [email protected]