President Lynne Murray focused on the university’s economic sustainability in a changing educational environment during her State of the University address on Feb. 17 in Rice Auditorium.

Last September, the Orange reported on $1 million in budget cuts. Murray said the actual deficit that faced the university was $4 million when she took office on July 1. And although the number might seem high, Murray announced that the university has now reduced that number by $2 million.

“Despite budget shortfalls, you, our faculty and staff, have continued to achieve, continued to win awards, and continued to graduate exceptional students,” Murray said. “…Quite simply, our faculty members empower students to achieve the type of outcomes where external audiences point and say ‘Baker University, they do things right, it’s personal there, and those students are ready.’ In a climate, where universities are constantly scrutinized … Baker University shines.“

But besides singing the university’s praises, she said more monetary changes need to happen.

“Our work is not done, however,” Murray said, after announcing the reduction in the deficit. “… The solution before us is to increase revenue.”

The SPGS campus has seen a steady decline for the past nine years, which Murray said has had the biggest impact on the university’s bottom line. Since the enrollment peak in 2008, enrollment for the SPGS campus has gone from 4,100 to 3,100. But at the undergraduate campus, freshman enrollment has met its target for two consecutive years.

Murray said the university’s current enrollment patterns are just not sustainable; with the two schools bringing in completely separate numbers, there is a disconnect in where the university chooses to focus its attention. To combat this, the university created an enrollment management committee in fall of 2013. But Murray plans to expand the scope and bring in new members in order to develop a new stakeholder-driven plan.

“The chief among these efforts will be to further unite Baker as one university,” Murray said. “This can no longer be something that we simply say; we must live it, from our word-of-mouth marketing, to our traditional campaigns, to even our infrastructure. We can no longer afford to have a brand dichotomy.”

Murray also asked the community to help the university boast its accomplishments. In order to keep the momentum rolling, Murray believes that the university needs to focus on branding itself – playing up its marketable achievements and spreading knowledge to those without a proper understanding of what a liberal arts education means.

“If operated correctly, liberal arts universities could be on the verge of a renaissance,” Murray said. “The world is moving too fast to ignore the benefits of a cross-disciplinary education. This could be Baker’s moment.”

The challenge, she said, is being nimble and proactive with the development of new budget and enrollment plans. For the university, Murray promised to aggressively seek funding for scholarships and expand the renewable resource base of the university.

And for the rest of the community, she asks for a little boasting.

“Let’s brag a little,” Murray said. “We are an excellent, regionally and nationally distinguished liberal arts university; a pioneer of online learning and a student-centered institution where values do matter. So much has changed over the past 157 years, but the foundation, the core of who we are, remains the same.”