[CAUT] Was caut Digest, Vol 1090, Issue 3; now funding

[Jim Busby]

Excellent, Alan!

JB

-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of
Alan McCoy
Sent: Wednesday, September 20, 2006 12:50 PM
To: College and University Technicians <caut at ptg.org>
Subject: [CAUT] Was caut Digest, Vol 1090, Issue 3; now funding

Hey Paul, et al,

Starting about 2 years ago I began the process of finding funding for
our
program. There has never been a budget for maintenance, rebuilding, or
replacement at this university. I created a spreadsheet of our piano
inventory, a powerpoint presentation to our faculty etc etc. I got lots
of
positive comments but no action. It percolated. Then I got an important
brainstorm - I need to increase the number of stakeholders. It occurred
to
me that we have a large inventory of instruments, not just pianos. I
contacted all the faculty departments and compiled a complete inventory
of
our instruments into my spreadsheet. Made another presentation to the
faculty. The whole room lit up. The homework was done. The chair took it
to
the dean. It was a no-brainer. Dean took it to provost. Then to the
president. Board approved this past summer. All classes taught by the
music
department will beginning this fall have an"instrument fee" of $15. That
will generate about $32,000 a year for us depending on the number of
students taking music classes, and the lions share of that will go to
pianos.

The lessons for me are:

1. Do the legwork and the homework and develop the foundation to support
your case.
2. Increase the stakeholders. Ownership is the locomotive and the grease
for
the wheels.
3.  Present it to the faculty and make a compelling case. Make it a
no-brainer.
4. Enjoy living, including your time at the university. Be positive.
Have
fun. Whining is off-putting, counter-productive and contagious.

Alan

PS. I have supporting docs - like spreadsheet - that you can use as a
template if you care to. Email privately.




> From: Fred Sturm <fssturm at unm.edu>
> Reply-To: "College and University Technicians <caut at ptg.org>"
<caut at ptg.org>
> Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2006 08:17:08 -0600
> To: "College and University Technicians <caut at ptg.org>" <caut at ptg.org>
> Subject: Re: [CAUT] caut Digest, Vol 1090, Issue 3
> 
> Hi Paul,
> Sounds like this is a good opportunity to sit down with piano
> faculty and revisit the entire piano maintenance program. I wouldn't
> want to "pick sides," and I think you should make clear that your
> attitude is positive toward both (I like Chris Solliday's term: you
> are the "Advocate for the Inventory"). Explain the balancing act you
> go through even without the intrusion of a major demand on resources.
> Someone else needs to make the decision, in all likelihood,
> especially since you are new, but you definitely want to be in the
> middle of the decision-making process. In my department, if such a
> request came forward the chair would ask my advice and would almost
> certainly take it.
> "Special" versus regular, on-going budget? I think I'd vote for
> special in this case, but it depends how your on-going budget is set
> up. One doesn't want to use operating budget for capital expense or
> vice versa, at least on a regular basis. A comprehensive piano
> maintenance budget should have similar categories. I would want to
> assign this to "capital," which would include replacement and major
> rebuild, but I guess from your post that there is no such portion of
> your budget, that all you really have is on-going maintenance and
> tuning budget. So the real aim should be to create a capital budget,
> long term. From what source? Ideally from the capital budget of the
> university at large, or from a targeted endowment. Lacking those, a
> student fee might work (that's what I have).
> Some sort of compromise position may be possible, wherein you get
> training to allow you do to a major portion of this rehab work
> without requiring quite as much money going to the outside expert.
> Long term, this makes you more valuable to the department, and saves
> them money (assuming the fortepiano remains important at your
> institution - faculty leave and priorities change). Who knows, maybe
> there is some kind of staff professional development pot that could
> be tapped for this.
> What kind of rehab? Recover hammers? Restring? General action and
> key recondition? Or is it more major than those?
> Regards,
> Fred Sturm
> University of New Mexico
> fssturm at unm.edu
> 
> 
> 
> On Sep 18, 2006, at 1:34 PM, Paul T Williams wrote:
> 
>> 
>> Hi List,
>> 
>> Some of my greenish hue is starting to wear off on being a CAUT,
>> but on budget matters with piano faculty, in particular, I shine
>> brighter that the emerald city!!  We have 105 keyboard instruments
>> here at the university, one of them being a Belt forte-piano about
>> 25 years old.  The professor who plays it primarily is demanding a
>> major rehabilitation to it which will require some outside help
>> with my assisting this outside expert.  The estimated cost of
>> bringing this "expert" in will take over 28% of my yearly budget.
>> The instrument is used in concert 6-8 times per year as compared to
>> our 3 Steinway D's, 1 concert Baldwin and 3 Steinway B's which are
>> used constantly.
>> 
>> Some of the other faculty are up in arms about using the piano
>> budget and insist that this is a "special project" and should use
>> "special funds" like grants and the like.  Of course I agree
>> strongly both ways!  It is a university instrument, so it should
>> use university funds.  On the other hand it is used so
>> infrequently, that I can't see using a huge slice of my pie.  On
>> the third hand, one of my responsibilities is to see to it that all
>> instruments are happy.
>> 
>> Having such a limited budget as I do, if I had to replace a good
>> quality grand, (not even concert level), I would be spending far
>> more than one year's budget, leaving all other instruments on hold
>> until next year whatever the need may be.INCLUDING the concert
>> instruments.
>> So I ask for a bit of seasoned advise from you all.  How have you
>> handled such delemmas? Thanks for your help.
>> 
>> Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.....
>> 
>> Paul T. Williams RPT
>> University of Nebraska-Lincoln
>