Budget cuts will be take center stage when the Faculty Senate discusses issues facing the University of Massachusetts at its regular meeting on Thursday.

On the agenda this week is an address from Margo Crist, Director of the Libraries, concerning the Education and Reference Materials (ERM) budget cuts proposed during state budget negotiations this week in Boston.

In addition to concerns over library funding, the discussion will focus on the possible establishment of an Ad Hoc Committee on undergraduate education. Following these presentations will be the regular announcements and question period.

Proposed budget cuts for the state would cut the ERM budget by 20 percent, allowing the library to acquire fewer journals and resources for the students and faculty to use. The ERM budget, shared by 29 higher education libraries across the state, would be reduced from $14 to $11 million if the cuts are passed. It would be the first time since before 1999 that the budget has dropped to that level. UMass receives 30 percent of this budget and will therefore take 30 percent of the loss.

The Library Council sees the budget cuts as a threat, not only to the University and its resources, but also to the state’s economy. The faculty wishes to avoid this cut, and the Senate has proposed a motion demanding that the budget cuts that would affect ERM monies be suspended.

“The Faculty Senate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, call upon the Governor and the House and Senate leadership to restore the current level of funding and thereby avoid devastating cuts to our libraries,” reads the motion, which will be debated and voted on at the meeting.

The motion, sponsored by the Senate’s Research Library Council, explained that these funds are important to the mission of the library.

“These vital funds are used to buy the books and subscribe to the journals that are essential to the successful education of our students,” the motion reads. “And the outstanding research that contributes both to that education and to the economy of the Commonwealth.”

After discussions on the ERM budget cuts conclude with questions, the Senate will turn to the proposition of establishing an Ad Hoc Committee for Undergraduate Educations.

The proposed committee would be a three-year commitment with renewable terms, provided to assist the existing councils and committees of the Faculty Senate. In addition, the committee would provide a forum for the broader issues of undergraduate education, while coordinating the work of the Academic Matters Council, the Program and Budget Council and the General Education Council.

“No single council or committee is currently charged to deliberate and make recommendations with respect to the broader issues,” states the special report of the Rules Committee, which will present the motion. “Such as: breadth, depth and quality of undergraduate education; the ability of the campus to deliver the undergraduate curriculum represented in its current catalogue within the constraints of the current resources; the size of the undergraduate student body; faculty resources; facilities; enrolled management and retention policies; assessment; and other broad issues.”

The Rules Committee would appoint the committee’s nine positions, which will be chaired by a faculty member. The Senate expects the Ad Hoc Committee to provide at least, “a progress report or a final statement to the Faculty Senate at the penultimate Faculty Senate Meeting of each year.”

Following questions on the Ad Hoc Committee proposal will be the regular announcements.

The 596th meeting of the Faculty Senate will be held this Thursday in room 227 of Herter Hall at 3:30 p.m.