San Diego

Budget cuts will make for a difficult academic year at San Diego State University, Albert Johnson, vice president for academic affairs, told the faculty at its yearly convocation Wednesday. Johnson said the $6.5 million in cuts already announced this month--affecting libraries, equipment replacement, student services and other areas--are among the worst in his memory.

But Johnson said that negotiations going on between Gov. George Deukmejian and top state education officials from the California State University and University of California systems could restore some money.

“If that happens, cuts (in class offerings) seen for the spring will be small and insignificant rather than large and significant,” Johnson said. “It is my belief that, even in the worst case, the spring reductions will be relatively minor. I don’t expect to see wholesale reductions.”

SDSU President Thomas Day ordered that cuts in numbers of classes be minimized at the expense of other areas. On Wednesday, Day welcomed the faculty with remarks continuing his longstanding emphasis on the need for faculty research to complement and improve the teaching function.