University of Illinois Associate Provost Keith Marshall, the Provost's liaison to Uni High, recently sent this message below and I wanted to share it with our alumni audience.

Please see the email links in the column to the left if you would like to ask questions, give input or make a donation to Uni.

Sincerely yours,

Jeff Walkington, Ph.D

Uni High Director

From Associate Provost Marshall:

In September the Uni High community was made aware of a budget debt in excess of $1M and a recurring annual budget deficit. At that time we pledged to request an audit of Uni's expenditures by the Office of University Audits and to form a budget task force to address Uni's financial challenges. With the audit now complete, I write to update you on the outcome of the audit and plans for next steps.

While a University audit cannot be released in its entirety, an executive summary of the audit findings is available upon request. In short, the audit found no evidence of inappropriate financial transactions; expenditures over the past four years were in support of Uni's mission; and the $1M debt was the result of insufficient financial monitoring of the complex accounting procedures involved in administering the General State Aid grant account from FY2012-FY2014. The Office of the Provost has reviewed the audit findings and directed Uni to adopt the procedures and safeguards outlined in the audit recommendations.

With the external review of Uni's finances complete, it's time to begin the work of addressing Uni's immediate budget challenges and its long-range financial model. After careful consideration, we believe that two groups working in parallel are needed to address these issues.

The budget task force outlined in my September email will be charged with developing a detailed understanding of Uni's current budget and recommending the cost saving and revenue generating steps necessary to bring Uni's budget into balance. Dr. Jeff Walkington will convene the budget task force, which will be comprised of two faculty appointed by the Executive and Curriculum Committees, the Uni financial staff and a PFO representative.

On August 13, 2014, Vice Provost Charles Tucker's email to the Uni community stated that "Provost Adesida expects to initiate a visioning/planning process in the coming academic year to set the course for Uni's future." In the coming weeks a Strategic Visioning Committee, comprised of key Uni stakeholders, the University and the local community, will be charged with considering Uni's role in the campus and community, as well as its fiscal and physical-plant needs, and developing a sustainable long-range vision for Uni.

Together, we believe these two groups can proactively address the current financial challenges and plot a course for Uni's continued success. Thank you for your continued support of Uni High.