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   from the issue of July 14, 2005

     
 
Milliken lauds Unicameral commitment to NU

EDITOR'S NOTE - University of Nebraska President James B. Milliken sent the following e-mail to all NU faculty and staff on June 23.


To all University of Nebraska Faculty and Staff:

The University of Nebraska 2005-06 budget that was recommended by the Appropriations Committee, approved by the Legislature and signed by the governor represents very good news for the university.

We very much appreciate the hard work of Sen. Don Pederson, who chairs the Appropriations Committee, the members of the Legislature, and Governor Dave Heineman in producing a budget that will help us make progress toward our strategic priorities.

The state's investment in the University of Nebraska for 2005-06 will be nearly $426 million - an increase of more than $29 million over 2004-05.

This 7.4 percent increase in the general fund appropriation is the largest in 15 years. The combined biennial increase approved by the Legislature for 2005-07 is 13.5 percent.

Among the important investments that the budget allows us to make is increased salaries and an improvement in our retirement plan. With regard to the latter, at its June meeting the Board of Regents approved a proposal to increase the university's contribution to our retirement plan by one-half percent. This will increase the university contribution to retirement from 6 to 6.5 percent or from 7.5 to 8 percent, depending on the employee's level of participation. This is the first increase in the employer contribution to retirement in many years.

Recruiting and retaining excellent employees is key to building the quality of the University of Nebraska, and we could not accomplish that without competitive salaries and benefits. I am pleased that the level of state investment in the university helps us achieve that objective.

Thank you for your good work for the university and the state of Nebraska.



GO TO: ISSUE OF JULY 14

NEWS HEADLINES FOR JULY 14

Foursome aids actors
Bombings fail to halt UNL travels
Museum celebrates gift with Discovery Center renovation
University makes switch to alternative fuels
A Piece of University History
Milliken lauds Unicameral commitment to NU
OLLI program fosters lifelong learning
Tractor museum continues work toward pulling its own weight
University dedicates new research facility
UNL delegation presents book to tribes
UNL, UNMC join forces for Bio 2005 convention

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