GOOD NEWS AND UNDISCLOSED TRUTH

posted by James Reel

    Yesterday, UApresents, the university’s arts-presenting unit, announced that for the first time in years it was ending the season in the black. The surplus is $98,878, to be exact. The press release went on to promote events in the upcoming season.
    What was missing from the announcement? First, mention that the surplus was made possible by raking in $500,000 from special fund-raising efforts, a feat that might not be replicated in the future. Without that money, the organization would have dug itself another $400,000 into the hole this year. Second, there’s the depth of that hole. Last September, UA president Robert Shelton temporarily forgave the organization its $1.2 million accumulated deficit, but stipulated that the money must eventually be repaid. Which means that even with the nearly $100,000 surplus this season, UApresents still has $1.1 million to go, besides meeting its annual budgets to come. No longer booking touring musicals was a good start—Broadway in Tucson takes care of that nicely, without losing tens of thousands of dollars on each show—but will UApresents ever be able to issue a press release celebrating the repayment of all its old debts?