An eloquent proposal of fluff....where's the info?

I'm not sure what everyone else was expecting from Monday's Presidential address, but I was pretty pumped to get some concrete information about the state of the budget. Results!...Plans of action!...This is how the administration will be allocating funds!

And here follows, once again, a sigh of disappointment. What I did get to hear as I sat in my bedroom, eating my turkey sandwich and watching the address via streaming media from the OU Front Page, was President McDavis's plan for Provost Kathy Krendl to take over a large portion of his responsibilities while he focuses on fundraising efforts and "maintaining the academic mission of this institution."

There was brief mention of the state funding proposal, which states that Ohio colleges can receive five percent more in state money next year if they freeze tuition for in-state undergraduates; however, McDavis did not give any indication of how OU would accept the proposal! There have been talks for months now about whether to flat line tuition, raise it three percent or even six percent and forgo the state support.

Anyhow, I guess that's a "yay" for a strong focus on the academic mission and a well-developed plan for Krendl to take over the research and academics of this university, and a "nay" for the lack of information regarding the budget. I'd like to wish President McDavis luck in his proposed fundraising efforts as he travels across the state of Ohio. The rest of us will just sit here and wait for the money to roll in, as departments and programs struggle to avoid anticipated cuts for the upcoming school year.