Bright Ideas at Smith

December 9, 2002

I am writing to inform you about several matters related to the budget.

I would first like to tell you about the second of the open meetings on the budget. It will take place Friday, December 13, between 2 and 3 in the Neilson Browsing Room. At the meeting Ruth Constantine, Jonathan Lovell and I will present a short overview of the budget, answer questions, and invite your suggestions.

I would also like to inform you about an e-mail address we have created,brightideas@smith.edu, to which we invite you to submit any ideas you have for saving costs. We know that those of you working on the operational level of campus departments often have the best ideas about how to realize cost savings. We invite you to submit your ideas. We will evaluate all ideas and respond to you within three weeks. You can find a full description of the program at www.smith.edu/brightideas.

In order to help achieve some economies, we will be issuing a new travel and meal reimbursement policy within a few weeks.

Finally, the Committee on Mission and Priorities has developed a set of principles to use in evaluating actions to address the budget challenges facing the college. They can be found at www.smith.edu/brightideas/principles.html.

Carol Christ