University of Delaware staff face layoffs and furloughs as the university tries to mitigate a $250 million deficit created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
UD President Dennis Assanis announced the measures in a letter to staff and faculty Thursday, saying the school exhausted most other options before these personnel moves.
"Given that we will have eliminated almost all discretionary expenses for this year, we have no choice but to turn to personnel actions," said Assanis in his letter. "We are committed to balancing the respect and appreciation we have for our workforce with the need to respond to immediate financial pressures, while positioning UD for success in the next few years."
In addition to staff layoffs and furloughs, cost-cutting measures include a voluntary retirement incentive program, voluntary schedule reduction, and temporary reductions to retirement contributions.
The measures only involve staff, and not UD faculty. The University is in discussions with the unions representing employees, including the UD chapter of the American Association of University Professors.
Assanis’ letter did not indicate how much will be saved by making these moves, but UD is also taking $100 million from its endowment to help stabilize its financial health.
President Assanis plans to hold a virtual town hall meeting October 1 to give a detailed presentation on the school's financial situation and take questions from the UD community.
His letter did indicate some factors causing UD’s budget shortfall. They include a tuition freeze amid increased expenses, an enrollment decline of 700 first-year students compared to UD’s pre-COVID-19 target and increased financial aid.
It also listed projected revenue losses in sponsored research, philanthropy, investments, and self-supporting operations, increased pandemic-related expenses, and more investment in online course conversion, technology, and support.
Assanis says the hope is to get things on campus somewhat normalized for the spring semester, but if the pandemic continues to cause changes, UD faces even more losses.
“If the current situation continues into the spring — similar residential density, primarily online instruction, no events, no athletics, combined with pandemic-related safety expenses — we expect an additional shortfall of $60 million," said Assanis in his letter. "In short, our projected deficit for the year is in the range of $228 million to $288 million.”
Assanis also notes the financial difficulties are not a one-year event.
Back in May, the school announced that President Assanis, the provost, and executive vice president all took 10 percent salary cuts. UD 's senior leadership took five percent cuts. That group included all vice presidents, deputy and vice provosts, deans, the chief investment officer, executive director of campus and public safety, and the chief of police.
Other administrators, including the athletic director, football, and men’s and women’s basketball coaches volunteered to take cuts of five percent.
In May, the university also announced a salary freeze for all UD employees. Effective July 1, 2020, base salaries remain unchanged for the 2021 Fiscal Year, with no annual merit increases. School officials said then that there were exceptions for faculty and staff promotions already approved.
