Trudy Pound-Curtis, FCPA FCA

Memorial University is a vitally critical institution in Newfoundland and Labrador, and I am very proud to serve as vice-president (finance and administration) while the search for a permanent leader in this area is underway. This is a homecoming for me: I began my career as the comptroller and director of financial services at Memorial and worked here for 15 years.

Memorial inspired my passion for post-secondary education and how it transforms lives and communities.

As vice-president (finance and administration), my priorities are the development of a new budget model and identifying, assessing and mitigating financial risks. You can expect to hear from me regularly on both topics.

I spent over 16 years at York University, and one of my proudest accomplishments was the successful design and implementation of a new budget model at that institution.

Universities across the country are facing increasing pressures: constrained budgets, changing enrolment demographics and increasing costs. Memorial is not immune to these pressures, and we will respond to them in a way that is consistent with our shared values and priorities as a university.

I have been working with academic and administrative leaders, building on work that had already begun at Memorial, to identify and develop a budget model that will serve Memorial well. Members of the community called for a model that aligns resources with academic priorities, improves transparency and accountability and is both predictable and sustainable.

This has led us to an activity-based/responsibility centred management (RCM) budget model for Memorial. It has been endorsed by the president and vice-presidents, as well as deans across all campuses of our university.

This model sees funding allocated to faculties and schools based on the revenue they generate; in turn faculties are responsible for the costs associated for the support their units require (i.e., libraries, central finance, facility maintenance). This will significantly improve academic autonomy over the allocation of financial resources. Included in this model are guiding principles to ensure that Memorial University remains learner centric, academically rigorous and financially sustainable.

As emphasized in Dr. Morrison’s messages to our community, this approach is about empowering academic units to make strategic decisions to enhance the student experience, support research excellence and uphold the institution’s mission in a rapidly changing post-secondary sector.

Similar models are used at other Canadian universities, including York, University of Toronto, Wilfred Laurier University and McMaster University. One of the benefits of moving to a model that is well-established in other jurisdictions, is the ability to learn what worked well and what did not, so we can adapt for what is best for us.

I know that many members of our community will have questions about how a responsibility centered management budget will work at Memorial. There will be interest in, and perhaps some concern about, how the model will impact individuals and units. Together with the president and provost, I am committed to extensive consultation as we work on this model. In fact, this week, I have a number of consultations scheduled and look forward to more in the coming weeks, including leaderships teams, academic and support units as well as Senate. There will be opportunities for everyone to engage in this process.

I want to be clear that a new budget model will not make the decisions for our university. Together, based on the approved guiding principles, we will develop a framework that will align resources with academic priorities. It is also important to note that a new budget model will not solve our budget issue. We are spending more than we are bringing in.

A new budget model is one of the tools that will help guide us to the financial sustainability that is foundational to Memorial’s future. A stable financial foundation will allow us to meaningfully support our students while serving the people of this province through excellence in education and research.

I look forward to our good work together.

Sincerely,

Trudy Pound-Curtis, FCPA FCA