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LINCOLN — University of Nebraska-Lincoln administrators mapped out $27.5 million in proposed cuts that faculty say will be “devastating” to a campus that has already endured $75 million in cuts over the past six years.
UNL Chancellor Rodney Bennett detailed the cuts Friday, including $7.7 million from eliminating six degree programs, $5.5 million expected from buyouts for long-term tenured faculty, $4.6 million from a 1% reduction in state-aided budgets, $3.8 million in “efficiencies” from top administrative offices and four colleges, $2 million from merging four academic departments into two schools and $550,000 less for graduate assistantships.
The plan also seeks “targeted philanthropy” to backfill $2.5 million in mandated tuition remissions, a goal the university hopes to address over the longterm with state lawmakers.
John Shrader, president of UNL’s Faculty Senate, said the timeline to offer feedback on the cuts, by Oct. 10, is tight, and he said the damage could take years for the university to repair, “if ever.”
“The professors and the Extension and staff and students have not caused a $27.5 million deficit, but we’re paying for it,” Shrader told the Nebraska Examiner. “We’re the ones who are going to be deeply impacted.”
He added: “It’s just an awful day for the University of Nebraska, no matter how you look at it.”
Jessie Brophy, president of the UNL Staff Senate and director of external engagement and partnerships at the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said that while the Staff Senate recognizes the need for the reductions, staff are deeply concerned about the impact.
“We are committed to representing staff perspectives, supporting our colleagues, and maintaining open communication as the process moves forward,” Brophy said in a statement.
Student leaders for the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska and Graduate Student Assembly did not immediately respond to requests Friday for comment.
The academic programs proposed for elimination are: Department of Educational Administration ($1.95 million, 17 positions) Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences ($1.85 million, 12 positions) Department of Statistics ($1.75 million, 12 positions) Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design ($1.45 million, 11 positions) Community and Regional Planning degree programs ($475,000, four positions) Landscape Architecture degree programs ($225,000, two positions) In the case of the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, which includes geology and meteorology and climatology, “high-performing faculty” may qualify for rehire in other UNL units “to preserve educational pathways and research expertise.”
The Department of Statistics is a standalone department. Undergraduate data science degrees in the College of Arts and Sciences and College of Engineering would be retained.
The Departments of Entomology and Plant Pathology would be merged under the proposal, as would the Departments of Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication (ALEC). If approved, faculty from the two units would devise a combined name and plan in the spring.
Additionally, there would be fewer graduate assistantships available in the College of Arts and Sciences ($325,000) and College of Engineering ($225,000).
The Colleges of Business, Engineering, Fine and Performing Arts and Journalism and Mass Communications would need to find a combined $1.1 million in administrative and staff “efficiencies.”
Bennett’s office, as well as the top academic office and business and finance division, would need to find $2.69 million in unidentified “efficiencies.”
While it’s unclear what these “efficiencies” look like, some deans have previewed the efforts.
Dean Shari Veil of the College of Journalism told her college that the “efficiencies” will mean fewer electives, some larger class sizes and additional course sections more dependent on demand and waitlists that might determine whether to offer more sections of courses.
While the journalism college faced no proposals to eliminate majors, Veil said the college will still look at revising its curriculum for “stronger connections” across majors and new courses.
“None of these changes will alter our core mission: to nurture curious and creative minds to thrive in the everchanging media and communication professions,” Veil said in an email Friday.
