University President Michael Adams will recommend Thursday that the Cabinet assess 2 percent of auxiliary revenues to support the University’s academic mission, he said.

The 2 percent fee – coming from athletics, housing, student activities, food services, transportation and parking – will amount to $5 or $6 million, Adams said. The University’s auxiliary services make close to $300 million a year.

“We provide a lot of administrative overhead to those entities anyhow,” he said in an interview with The Red & Black Wednesday. “In fact, we’re probably asking for less back than we provide in services.”

Adams said athletics in particular will experience no negative effects due to the proposed fee assessment and recruitment will not be affected.

“[The athletic department has] already committed some significant help to the University voluntarily and we will apply that to the two percent we’re going to ask all auxiliaries to do,” he said.

Representatives from housing and parking services declined to comment last week on the revenue changes due to the early stages of the fee assessment.

“But frankly, between the $2 million in commitments they have already made and the [Collegiate Licensing Company] has made that flows to the University for academic support, I think they will start out beyond the 2 percent that we’re going to ask for.”

Adams said the purpose of the fee assessment is to redirect 2 percent of the auxiliary budgets and “redirect them to academic support to try and save jobs in academics.”

The money will be put toward items that support the faculty and their work he said.

“I don’t think, frankly, we’ll use that money to save jobs,” Adams said. “I think we’ll use that money largely to support the jobs that we maintain.”

Adams said the budget cuts have led to departments requesting more financial assistance.

“I’ve probably had more requests for legitimate help in the last 12 months than at any other 12-month period,” Adams said.

Because of the need for strict financial management, the flexibility of managing has been taken away from deans and department heads.

In addition to state budget cuts, Adams said, endowments have taken a hit.

“We will take a hard look at providing [professors in need] his or her normal faculty support through some of these hard times,” he said.

In his State address, Adams emphasized a need to reach out to donors.

“[We] will hold our funding partners to the same level of cooperation that we have demonstrated to them,” he said.

Adams said the University is in need of several things – library support, faculty travel and “school supplies” – that will be covered by the auxiliary fee assessment.

“Basic, everyday functions in the academic programs are very, very stretched,” he said.

The 2 percent fee on all auxiliaries “will make them tighten their belts a little bit, but for all the right reasons,” Adams said. “And that is to support the core function of the University.”