University told to prepare for $74 million cut in funding for 2011-12 year - 6:06 p.m.

University administrators have been told by the state to prepare for budget cuts as high as $74 million — or 35 percent — for fiscal year 2011-12.

"The consequences of an additional cut of this magnitude would be catastrophic to LSU," Chancellor Michael Martin said in an email to University faculty and staff that was obtained by The Daily Reveille on Thursday.

The University has until Sept. 15 to submit a report detailing how the University could go about making what Martin called "an extraordinary reduction in funding."

The new projection is 12 percent more than what the University's three-level plan was designed to eliminate.

"To reduce the University's budget by 35 percent would be ruinous to LSU for generations," Martin said in the email.

----
Contact Matthew Albright at malbright@lsureveille.com