This is Ayres Hall on the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville.KNOXVILLE - Staring down a $2.2 million shortfall in the upcoming budget cycle, the University of Tennessee Foundation has proposed putting off hiring a new president, eliminating vacant positions and attempting to reassign three positions elsewhere in the university system.
The foundation is making $1.1 million in hard budget cuts and has also accepted $500,000 from the university system to help with the transition, said Lisa Taylor, chief financial officer, during the foundation's board meeting Tuesday at the downtown Holiday Inn. The cuts include reducing some functions - like communications - that the foundation was handling on behalf of the campuses.
Among the vacant positions being eliminated is that of former chief operating officer Bruce Downsbrough, who was arrested last year on child pornography charges. Shortly after, foundation president and UT vice president for alumni affairs Johnnie Ray stepped down for family reasons.
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