State and VCU Budget Actions Update
Dear colleagues:
Earlier this week, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin ceremonially signed the state’s two-year budget, which includes historic levels of funding for VCU. We are grateful to the governor and all legislators in the Senate and the House for the budget’s record support for VCU’s top priorities, including $181 million for our new VCU arts and innovation building; needed improvements to our technology infrastructure; student financial aid; and record funding for VCU Massey Cancer Center. We have always had a tremendously strong, positive working relationship with state leaders, and I am very grateful for their support of VCU’s important statewide mission.
The budget also makes final pay increases for eligible faculty and staff. This is an important recognition of the immense value of the work that you do to advance our important mission, and the General Assembly and Governor joined the university in making this a priority. Pay increases will take effect July 10, reflected in paychecks on August 1. More information will be coming from Human Resources soon.
The finalization of the state’s budget allows us to move forward with VCU’s budget process. The Board of Visitors in May approved a 3% tuition increase, and today approved a one-time scholarship for in-state students to offset the increase and minimize the impact on students and their families in this difficult period of pandemic and inflation. This will keep tuition flat for all in-state undergraduates for the fourth consecutive year and effectively bring the net undergraduate tuition increase for in-state students to zero for this year.
This will be difficult, but it’s the right thing to do in light of the economic challenges that students and their families are facing. Consistent with VCU’s mission, this plan will positively impact Virginia students and their families. VCU enrolls the most need-based students and the largest number and percentage of in-state students among Virginia’s top three research universities.
I’m enormously grateful to our wise and visionary leaders for this strong budget. And I’m incredibly proud of our faculty and staff members. You perform critically important and outstanding work, day after day, to fulfill our mission of putting the needs of our students and patients first.
Sincere thanks to all of you.
Michael Rao
President, VCU and VCU Health System
Categories Periodic update, To VCU, Uncategorized, VCU Health