Alabama A&M University News October 2013 AAMU Committed to Holding Down Tuition Costs American institutions of higher education have been urged to do more to keep down their spiraling tuition. For decades, Alabama A&M University has been doing much to rein in its operational costs, even as utility rates and health insurance have climbed. At the onset of the just-ended (September 30) fiscal year, AAMU was the only college or university in Alabama that did not raise its tuition. One factor in A&M's ability to hold constant its tuition rate for the 2012-13 school year was the dramatic improvement in the University's finances since its fiscal lows of 2009. AAMU President Andrew Hugine, Jr., further acknowledges that these pluses mounted despite declines in yearly state appropriations. Additionally, AAMU allocated some $20 million to address deferred maintenance issues and increased its endowment to more than $40 million. Finally, AAMU faculty and staff will receive a two percent pay increase, marking the first such pay increase in more than five years. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.