By Dennis O’Neil

As the University of Louisville strains under its current budget crisis, some administrators have refused to allow student jobs onto the chopping block.

According to Graduate Student Council President Tim Brauch, as well as law students, Brandeis Law School Dean Jim Chen has been taking money out of his own salary to continue funding student positions such as law library research assistants and tutors for first year law students. Brauch said these positions were about to be eliminated as a result of the recent budget cuts, but Chen elected to keep them on through use of his own money.

Brauch also said that the Student Government Association recently voted to supply the law school with $10,000 in funding after learning about the situation from law school senators.

“SGA recognized this was a valid use of money,” Brauch said. “We voted to use an excess fund we had in order to keep the student positions. The money covers most of what Dean Chen was paying out of his pocket, which he was doing for about a month.”

Chen declined to comment for this story, but according to Student Bar Association President Justin Fowles, the recent budget cuts have hit the law school hard. Fowles said 15 to 20 research assistants have been laid off and all travel money for academic conferences has been eliminated.

In light of these cuts, Fowles and other law students have expressed appreciation for the actions of Chen and SGA.

“As a new dean, Chen has demonstrated great enthusiasm for the school and said he wants to put students at the center of his attention,” Fowles, a third year law student, said. “We look forward to many years under his leadership.”

“Student services should not be compromised, regardless of how we got into this budget situation,” second year law student Charles George said. “SGA acted admirably in appropriating left over funds to the law school. It was certainly nice of Chen to cover the costs in the interim.”

Provost Shirley Willihnganz, declined to comment about Chen’s actions, but said the law school, like all other academic units, had been asked to plan for a three percent budget cut this year and an additional three percent cut over the next academic year, 2008-2009.

“We were able to manage the current year cuts with most units taking a significantly smaller cut than three percent,” Willihnganz said, “but in some units, these cuts have meant eliminating positions.”

Another area these cuts have touched is the graduate school, which Brauch is deeply concerned about.

According to Brauch, stipend money for graduate students has remained the same, but there will be no increases and less assistant-ships are likely to be offered next year. He feels this may hurt U of L in the long run, as quality students may head for universities with better funding packages.

“If Vanderbilt is offering a $22,000 stipend and U of L is offering a $20,000 stipend, the student is going to go to Vanderbilt, if only for a little bit more money,” Brauch said. “This is one of the big consequences of not giving raises.”

A lack of travel funding has also touched graduate students. Brauch said since the budget cuts, graduate students have not been able to apply for money from their individual departments and the only money they can get comes from the GSC, which can only supply up to $300. Graduate students have stressed the importance of conferences in their academic experiences.

“This is a big concern because conferences are the way we present our research and find jobs,” Jeff Osgood, a Ph.D. student in urban and public affairs, said. “It is an integral part of doctoral level education.”

Acting Dean of Graduate School William Pierce said less stipend money and less assistant-ships are possible in the future, but the graduate school is trying to spend more efficiently in order to prevent this.

“Just because you have a three percent cut doesn’t mean you stop three percent of what you are doing,” Pierce said. “We are trying to finance a little smarter right now and figure out ways to generate more revenue.”