Let's talk revenue

October 16, 2012

Yesterday, we held the first Revenue Generation Symposium on campus. It was an excellent start and I hope you will take the time to look at the presentations made by intrepid deans and leaders in the administration who are thinking of creative ways to pursue revenue generating ideas.

The “case studies” covered a wide range of activities, from an academic related service, through a more imaginative use of restaurant space, to how we sell tickets to athletics events. This diversity was not an accident – the examples were chosen to illustrate the need for all us to think about what we can do. One of the key takeaways was the enormous benefits that could be derived from people stepping out of their organizational silos and working together to share best practices. As Jennifer Wolch said, “I can’t do this alone”.

Why is it important that we start a serious discussion about revenue?
Berkeley, along with numerous other educational institutions, has been subject to large, sudden, and -- in my opinion -- deeply misguided cuts in state funding. While we must continue to argue against such a short-sighted and self-defeating example of public policy, we must also do all we can to protect and grow Berkeley. Berkeley is one of the preeminent public universities in the world and I believe its survival matters a great deal. Berkeley is a symbol of what a public university can do and what it stands for. This means we cannot be passive. We have to do all that is within our control to generate the resources to sustain Berkeley’s level of access and excellence. While it is crucial that we demonstrate that we are efficient (hence the importance of Operational Excellence), I do not believe we can cut our way to financial sustainability without sacrificing what Berkeley is. Thus, the emphasis on growing net revenue.

One of the ideas that we will act on is to change the remit of the existing Operational Excellence program office to include providing technical help and financing to units on campus that have well formulated revenue generating projects – not just efficiency enhancing projects. It must be the case that a dollar of net revenue generated is worth as much as a dollar of expenses saved.

I invite you to learn more about our efforts in this area. Check out our Change Agenda page regularly and come to the next Symposium in the spring.