Cornell’s top dogs will face some of the tightest budget constraints of all those on the hill. And while the financial outlook is discouraging, we see opportunity in the possibility of an overhaul and centralization of Cornell's highest posts — particularly the bureaucratic infrastructure that is maintained by the Office of the Provost.

President Skorton announced Sunday night that the office will face a dismal 10-percent cut in its expenditures. The drastic cutbacks, however, are riding on the coattails of a decade that saw some of the most expansive initiatives and increases in administrative spending to reduce what they saw as relative decentralization of the administration.

The 2007-2008 Financial Plan for Cornell reported that over the past 10 years, “administrative and support costs” rose 4.5 percent. The extensive spending allowed the office to make some impressive leaps and bounds. In recent years the University has tripled the number of people who are responsible for reporting to the provost and has established new posts such as the vice provost for international relations and the associate provost for outreach.

When the University’s endowment was returning record-high figures, we applauded these bold moves and appreciated the work Cornell was doing to broaden the reach of its chief academic officer. But now we must reflect more harshly on these administrative decisions that could not possibly have predicted a 27-percent depletion of the endowment, a paralyzing cut in state funds and a setback in donations.

In 1931 Cornell appointed its first provost. The position, according to Morris Bishop in his History of Cornell, was created with the intention to assist the president, who had been feeling “overburdened with the routine of administration, [and] needed an executive officer with power to decide matters on secondary importance.”

Today we see an office run by 12 top administrators whose average salaries are often double that of the most senior professors, according to a report issued by the American Association of University Professors in April of 2008. In addition, the study found that the average percentage change of salaries for provosts over the course of two years doubled the percentage change of salaries for full professors.

As the University approaches how to apply the budget cuts approved by the Board of Trustees this weekend, it is essential to consider streamlining the efforts of Cornell’s recently expanded Office of the Provost. We are expecting to see tangible effects of the economic crisis hit hard, but taking steps to simplify the complex network of the University’s top administrative posts could help overcome the repercussions of the budgetary shortfall.