School Budget Update
Alison FronczakWhat is happening since Lazzara discontinued his funding?
Many of you probably read the email sent last summer by the Dean’s office regarding Dr. Gasper Lazzara’ discontinuation of funds to the school. Katie Haldy, a second year dental student, says she felt the email was vague, not concrete and did not inform students how the budget changes were going to effect their tuition. After reading about the school’s “budget crisis”, many dental students expressed similar concerns to those of Haldy.
 Gaspar Lazzara |
Dr. Brad Potter weighs in
So does a budget crisis at CU’s dental school really exist and more importantly, will the school close? Dr. Brad Potter, Dean of Academic Affairs, emphatically says “no”. “This institution will not shut down. There is no indication” it will, says Potter. He says he is sure of the school’s future because CU President Hank Brown, UCDHSC Chancellor M. Roy Wilson, and CU Dental School Dean Denise Kassebaum “are committed to dental education in the CU system for the benefit of Colorado’s population. Their commitment has not wavered. They are the people who have the pulse of whether the school will exist or not.” Brown, Wilson, Kassebaum and others developed a business plan anticipating that something like this could happen which allows the budget short comings to be temporary and not really effect the pre-doctoral education, says Potter.
The next question many students have about the school’s budget is how will the school make up for the funds Lazzara withdrew? One of the ways CU plans to make up for the dental budget is by charging orthodontic residents similar tuition fees as compared to those of peer orthodontic programs, says Potter. He also says CU dental alumni are pledging more support money to the school and CU President Brown is pledging more funds from the state budget to the school.
In addition, Potter says there is an increase in conversation about being productive clinically. The more students can produce, then the school gets more income and this increase in income helps offset the factors related to the overall budget. He says CU Dental is “tightening it up a little bit to make it a more realistic clinical atmosphere.” Dr. George Gatseos, Comprehensive Care and Restorative Professor, says he “has not seen any immediate changes and the bottom line is the school needs to produce on a daily basis.”
Lazzara helped build the new school
In order to get the new dental school built, Lazzara donated over eight million dollars. Potter and Gatseos stress that this donation should not be overlooked. “We are in a fabulous building thanks to Lazzara’s generosity,” says Gatseos. He also says that the school has “not overextended and we are positioned right where we need to be in order to take dental education into the future.”
Despite assurances from Potter that “students should not see any differences,” Haldy is still concerned about undergraduate dental students’ tuition. “I’ve heard Colorado is a cheap in-state school and this will give room to increase the tuition . . . but an increase in tuition won’t necessarily have a negative effect on our education,” she says.