Wright State president says ‘work is not done’

New president seeks input on how to further address budget woes.

Cheryl Schrader is calling for further measures to be taken to ensure that the school’s finances improve.

Wright State University’s president is calling for further measures to be taken to ensure that the school’s finances improve.

Cheryl Schrader sent a campuswide email Monday, again addressing how the university will strive to move past its recent budgetary problems. The school slashed $30.8 million from its fiscal year 2018 budget after years of overspending had drained reserves. The university’s budget for 2018 is $284 million after the cuts.

The new president said she plans to send out a monthly email message to the campus community.

“You have emerged from recent challenges stronger than you were before, with better systems and better checks,” Schrader wrote in Monday’s email. “But this work is not done. We are leaner, but it is also time to lean in.”

Schrader asked those in the campus community to share their thoughts with her on how best to “lay the foundation for our future” at WSU.

“Imagine that it is 10 years from now and Wright State University has met its most important goals. What does the university look like and how is it different from today?” Schrader wrote.

Schrader plans to create a strategic plan for Wright State, and her request for input is likely one of the first steps in that process.

“We will begin working together on a comprehensive strategic plan that ensures financial sustainability for Wright State, and that fosters a campus atmosphere aimed at providing our graduates opportunities to excel in fields that define the future and our region,” Schrader wrote.

Schrader’s message comes just days after she made her first public address as Wright State’s seventh president on Thursday.

Schrader spoke to hundreds of people in Wright State’s student union atrium. In that speech Schrader didn’t shy away from the school’s recent troubles.

She said the university will soon undergo a program prioritization process in which officials will gauge the value of not just academic programs but operations and other services as well. She also said she will be putting together a council of people from the campus community who she will meet with quarterly.

“I know that we can’t afford to dwell on the mistakes of the past,” Schrader said last week. “Rather, we must learn from them and we must move forward.”