re: Will LSU's Decline Be Saved By Budget Crisis?

In the end the cut won't be as large as they are estimating. Yes we currently run at a deficit but the state government will piecemeal the budget using reserve funds and other quick fix means so this falls on the next governor. The engineering and business colleges are mainly run using private funding just an FYI. This song and dance has been going on for a while. AS STATED PREVIOUSLY, the athletic department gives back a majority of their surplus to the academic side of the university. So the department won't be "rolling in dough" while the campus suffers.

Edit: Private funding refers to companies along "Cancer Alley", such as Shell and BASF, partially funding the universities' engineering departments. They do not do it single handedly, but those departments aren't solely dependent on the university.