ROLLA, Mo. (AP) – The new president of the four-campus University of Missouri System says faculty will be added despite reduced budgets.

President Mun Choi said Friday that the university is not “retrenching” in the face of budget shortfalls. He says the Missouri University of Science and Technology will add 18 faculty members. Faculty also will be added at engineering, business and medical schools on the Columbia campus.

Choi also pledged to elevate research and teaching at the university.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that the Board of Curators were told Friday the university system will need to cut 8 to 12 percent across its operations. Choi says that is a long-term figure, intended to prepare for more state budget cuts and to free resources for research, new faculty and student support.