President Bob Bruininks presented his annual budget recommendation to the Board of Regents on Friday.

Among the budget’s highlights was the continual decrease in state funding and a subsequent $152 million budget hole the University must address in fiscal year 2011.

To help illustrate the effect this year’s budget crisis is having, the board brought in senior University administrators to discuss the past and future effects of these cuts.

Among the consequences were the reduction in employees and classes, as well as a possible decrease in future enrollment.

Bruininks said that while the $30 million reduction the University recently underwent drew “demonstrators on the mall, it pales in comparison to the more than $100 million reduction the University will face in coming years.”

When asked if he expects a similar reaction at Monday’s public forum to discuss his budget recommendation, the President said “the University community has been absolutely spectacular in coming to grips with the economic reality we face. I know there are some concerns about pay reductions and whether there was a better way to do it, but there was no basic disagreement in the university committee about whether that was the right thing to do, it was more an issue of how to do it.”

-LUKE FEUERHERM