Durkee talks arts neighborhood

The Council of the Princeton University Community convened to discuss the Arts and Transit Neighborhood project and University finances on Monday evening in the Friend Center. President Shirley Tilghman presented the opening remarks and recognized the USG and class officers for their organization of the Orange and Black Ball.

At the meeting, plans for the fiscal year 2012-13 University budget were presented to the audience for consideration by Provost Christopher Eisgruber ’83. Noting that “every year the process [of determining the budget] is shaped by the economic fundamentals of the University,” Eisgruber explained that “this year we have some good news and still some significant remaining restraint.”

Though the 2010 and 2011 fiscal years’ returns on Princeton’s endowment had been much higher than University officials had dared to hope, Eisgruber urged continued budgetary discipline. Because the University pays for about half of its operating budget with funds from the endowment, he said, the 30-percent decrease in the endowment’s value that occurred in the wake of the recession required significant cuts in operating expenses.

The projected budget maintains spending cuts made over the last two years, which are necessary considering that the University is operating on a deficit. This year, he noted, the Priorities Committee will have only $500,000 to distribute for programmatic additions to the budget, even though requests for such additions will likely exceed $1 million. Pressure to reduce the budget in Washington, D.C., may also severely reduce federal support for University research in coming months, he said.

“This isn’t about holding your breath and tightening your belt for a while,” Eisgruber said of the University’s budgetary discipline. “It’s about losing weight and keeping it off.”

University Vice President and Secretary Bob Durkee ’69 also spoke, updating CPUC regarding the University’s ongoing attempt to develop an Arts and Transit Neighborhood just south of McCarter and Berlind Theatres, Durkee said that the Township would be considering a zoning ordinance for its portion of the proposed site under its authority on Monday evening.

Though many Princeton residents welcome the potential benefits of the Arts and Transit Neighborhood, Durkee said, the measure has proved controversial because it requires relocating the terminus of the Dinky more than 400 feet to the south. To do this, the University must secure zoning changes for the area. As the municipal boundary line separating the Township from the Borough runs through the area, approval for zoning must come from both authorities, though both municipalities voted in favor of consolidation in last week’s elections. The Borough has yet to approve a zoning ordinance for the portion of the site under its purview.

Despite the administrative hurdles, Durkee expressed confidence in the project’s merit. An Arts and Transit Neighborhood “in time will really make this community even more of an attraction for the arts,” he said.

Vice President of Human Resources Lianne Sullivan-Crowley concluded the meeting with a discussion of the University’s employee benefits plans. In light of escalating benefits costs, she said, the University is considering cost-saving changes to benefits-plan programs for condition management, pricing, available services and life insurance policies.