FAIRMONT, W.Va. — Fairmont State University closed the recent fiscal year in record-breaking fashion. The institution continues to build on cost containment and strategic initiatives implemented in January 2018.
“The efforts of the entire campus community to be conscious of costs and implement changes to improve efficiency proved to yet again be successful in helping us end the year with an increase in net position of $5.3 million, the largest increase recorded in over 10 years,” said Christa Kwiatkowski, the university’s chief financial officer. “To have two years of positive net position changes is quite a feat in today’s higher education environment.”
University President Mirta Martin noted the university’s cost containment initiative to stabilize costs; the effort was launched around 18 months ago.
“Our continued, and growing, financial strength is impressive, but I am most grateful for the fact this was a campus-wide effort,” Martin said. “The entire Falcon community understood the importance of long-term financial health, and we worked together to find strategic initiatives that not only contained costs, but did so in a way that ensured we maintained our high standard of academics and service to students and other constituents.”
Martin also said state Secretary of Revenue Dave Hardy has warned of the possibility of a mid-year cut to higher education of 4.6%, which is equivalent to around $1 million.
Suttle and Stalnaker conducted the audit, which will be presented during the Dec. 5 Board of Governors meeting.