University of Maryland could see steeper budget cuts - Yasmeen Abutaleb, The Diamondback

University President Wallace Loh stressed the importance of investing in higher education in his State of the Campus Address. In the midst of a proposed tuition hike and shrinking university funds, the state's top higher education officials voiced strong opposition to a $4 million system-wide office cut proposed Wednesday, arguing state universities are barely scraping by as is. Under the proposal by the Department of Legislative Services — the staffing agency for the state's General Assembly — each of the University System of Maryland's 12 schools would have to make up the cost. If approved, this university would suffer a $1.8 million cut, which university President Wallace Loh said it cannot afford. "These cuts will absolutely affect this university, and that is why we plan to fight them," Loh said. "I cannot tell you where those cuts will occur; it certainly would mean we will not hire some faculty members; it may mean we will cut any number of things to balance the budget."