Due to budgetary constraints, her position – which oversees a myriad of departments, ranging from Accounting Services to Campus Design and Facilities to the Police Dept. – will be left vacant indefinitely. Chancellor Henry T. Yang, who announced that her job would not be filled last week, said the process of finding a replacement would begin “when the economic situation improves and our budget begins to recover.”

Carpenter, who has been with UCSB for 15 years, said that the projects she began and plans she broke ground on would proceed despite her absence.

“In any given day, there are a number of plans in the making. It would be impossible to have nothing compromised in my absence,” Carpenter said. “The most significant proposals, though, like the housing plans and projects for the Long Range Development Plan, will continue to progress after my leave.”

Carpenter said the Division of Administrative Services has been dealt a temporary 5.6 percent financial cut and is awaiting another $4.1 million reduction effective this June. In light of such fiscal hardships, Carpenter said the institution will have to find a way to absorb the blows of budget cuts.

“The circumstances are not ideal,” Carpenter said. “We are in the midst of a difficult budget period and anticipate similar conditions for the upcoming years. Despite eroding finances, we will have to make do with what we have.”

In an attempt to fill Carpenter’s void, current employees will take on greater responsibility. Senior Associate Vice Chancellor Marc Fisher and Associate Vice Chancellor Ron Cortez are expected to share Carpenter’s duties while her position remains unfilled.

Lamenting the strain the budget cuts will have on the Division of Administrative Services, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Michael Young said the loss of management will likely lead to adverse effects down the road.

“A major university deals with all kinds of administrative issues and that requires leadership at an array of levels,” Young said. “I think that you can forgo that for a period of time, but after a point problems start to develop.”

Chancellor Yang said budget cuts are projected to adversely affect the campus as a whole.

“There will certainly be challenges ahead, including increased workloads and diminished services to the campus,” Yang said, in an e-mail. “With the magnitude of cuts we are facing, there is no way to avoid painful decisions. But we are committed to doing everything we can to maintain this community and the integrity of our teaching and research programs.”

While serving as vice chancellor, Carpenter oversaw a number of administrative departments on the campus, including the Accounting Services, Campus Design and Facilities, Environmental Health and Safety, Housing and Residential Services, Human Resources, and the Police Department.