Western Illinois University President Thomas: “We are surviving” - Nicholas Ebelhack, Western Courier

Western President Jack Thomas addressed the members of the Student Government Association (SGA) Tuesday Sept. 8 about how the university is reacting to the state budget crisis and his initiatives for the 2015-16 school year.  As the state of Illinois has still not come to terms on a budget for the fiscal year, which started July 1, Thomas said that the university will be faced with challenges over the next few years.  “We have not gotten a budget for the university, and I am sure you are all aware of that,” Thomas said. “It has been a major challenge for us and it will continue to be a major challenge for us for the next few years. We have informed the university community of some of the challenges that we are going to face.”  “We are down by 3.1 percent in enrollment this year,” Thomas said, “but that is not as much as it could have been if we hadn’t put other measures in place.” http://www.westerncourier.com/news/thomas-we-are-surviving/article_5b850848-5745-11e5-bcbd-5b9bb9801ccd.html