May Brought Deep Cuts at Multiple Colleges
With the academic year coming to an end, multiple universities announced deep cuts in May, shedding dozens of jobs amid financial pressures often linked to enrollment shortfalls.

Other institutions made steep cuts in connection to the funding challenges posed by the Trump administration, including caps on federal research reimbursements. Columbia University, a frequent target of Trump officials, announced last month that it was laying off 180 researchers after the federal government froze hundreds of millions of dollars in research funding. Other institutions with deep pockets, including Princeton University and Duke University, also announced budget cuts, buyouts and other measures.
But the cuts below, for the most part, are not directly tied to the rapid-fire actions of the Trump administration but rather stem from other financial pressures weighing on the sector. Many of the institutions listed are contending with declining enrollment and, for public universities, shrinking state support, which has necessitated fiscal changes.
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Here’s a look at campus cuts announced in May.
The public college in Indiana is laying off 202 employees, following cuts to state funding that are expected to add up to $54 million for Ivy Tech over the next two years, according to The Indy Star. Indiana officials have also called for a tuition freeze at state institutions, limiting Ivy Tech’s options to replenish dollars lost to state cuts.
“Because the college’s primary revenue sources are state appropriations, tuition, and fees, these developments have had an immediate effect on our planning,” Ivy Tech president Sue Ellspermann wrote in a letter to employees announcing the cuts. “We have reached the difficult decision to adjust our staffing levels, in addition to efforts to reduce our operational expenses.”
Layoffs will be spread across the large community college, which has 45 locations in the state.
The relocation of Bard’s early-college program from its Simon’s Rock location in Massachusetts to New York will see 116 employees laid off, The Boston Globe reported.
Those layoffs are set to begin at the end of June, according to a state filing.
The campus, which admits students after the 10th or 11th grade and allows them to begin college early, is closing due to declining enrollment revenues and fiscal challenges in operating the site, Bard College officials announced last year. Classes will begin at the new location in the fall.
Facing a $34 million budget deficit, the private university in Rhode Island (with a second campus in North Carolina) is cutting 91 jobs, or 5 percent of its workforce, Rhode Island PBS reported.
Of those cuts, 52 are faculty members and 39 are staff.
The majority of the cuts are at JWU’s campus in Providence, where 69 people will be laid off. Another 22 employees will lose their jobs at JWU’s campus in Charlotte, N.C.
The news outlet reported that JWU has lost about 50 percent of its enrollment since 2011.
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Following the elimination of 16 jobs earlier this year, the private university in Washington, D.C., has eliminated dozens of additional roles in an effort to address a $30 million budget deficit.
CUA also reduced its maximum retirement contribution and scaled back planned faculty raises.
“Today, with a heavy heart, I must inform you that we have implemented the concluding phase of our comprehensive financial resiliency plan, which unfortunately involves the elimination of 66 active staff positions across various departments, accounting for 7% of our workforce,” President Peter Kilpatrick announced last month.
Kilpatrick’s message also noted that the university did not anticipate further layoffs.
The State University of New York campus in upstate New York is cutting 63 jobs and 19 programs as it faces a budget deficit projected at $15.5 million, The Buffalo News reported.
The newspaper noted that enrollment had plunged by 43 percent over the last decade while staffing numbers had decreased by 22 percent, prompting the adjustment. The move comes after a prior round of cuts last year that saw officials drop 37 underenrolled programs. About 60 employees agreed to participate in a voluntary separation program at that time.
Officials said Buffalo State is on target to reach a balanced budget by 2027.
The private Christian university in New York is cutting its workforce by about 20 percent due to declining enrollment and other financial pressures, The Rochester Business Journal reported.
The news outlet noted that the university listed roughly 310 employees in a report last year, which would mean total cuts work out to an estimated 62 positions cut. RWU also plans to eliminate some programs as part of an effort called a strategic “resizing of our operations—both administratively and academically” to better align with its mission and community needs.
State funding cuts have prompted dozens of cuts at the public university.
Last month officials announced UMB would cut 60 jobs, eliminating 30 vacant positions and laying off 30 full-time staff members, The Baltimore Banner reported. UMB also plans to reduce salaries for current employees as it grapples with almost $26 million in state funding cuts. Federal research reimbursement cuts are also contributing to the layoffs at the university, which could lose 158 grant-funded positions over the next few years.
State and federal funding issues combined will affect the entire University System of Maryland in some way, with leaders planning for 400 cuts following budget talks earlier this year.
Citing enrollment uncertainty combined with “difficult financial terrain” due to diminished state and federal financial support, the public university in Indiana is cutting 45 jobs, WPTA reported.
The cuts are part of an effort to shave $6 million off the university’s budget.
“Purdue Fort Wayne has no choice but to right-size its budget and live within its means,” Chancellor Ron Elsenbaumer wrote to the university community last month.
The university did not specify what departments or budget units will be affected by those cuts, but Elsenbaumer wrote that the “adjustments will not involve academic degree programs.” He added that it was a “moment for strategic recalibration,” which would be followed by an “iteration of strategic initiatives” to focus on enrollment gains and “reinvestment in our priorities.”
Multiple faculty members at the Bloomington campus took voluntary separation agreements, with about 35 agreeing to retire early. Most of the retirements were reportedly effective beginning at the end of May.
But the buyouts came with an unusual caveat: The professors who opted in to the Voluntary Faculty Retirement Incentive Program had to sign an agreement not to disparage or defame the public university, as Inside Higher Ed reported last month. Though university officials defended the language as standard, many experts argued the agreements were unusual and that the deals had the potential to chill speech, particularly public criticism of IU.
As part of cost-cutting efforts to stave off a budget gap that is expected to grow beyond $20 million due to shrinking state support, the public flagship laid off 35 employees last month.
The layoffs hit administrative and staff roles the hardest, according to Seacoastonline. A UNH spokesperson told the news outlet that no faculty or instructional roles were lost among the job cuts.
“In reducing expenses, we have focused on minimizing impacts to academic excellence and the student experience,” officials said in a statement to Seacoastonline. “In some departments this has included not hiring for vacant positions, reducing the number of adjunct instructors, reducing travel, postponing equipment purchases, and reducing certain service availability and hours.”
Grappling with a nearly $5 million budget deficit, the private liberal arts college in Oregon plans to lay off 27 faculty members and is also considering program cuts, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
The goal, officials told OPB, is to erase the university’s budget deficit by next June, after years of financial losses. The proposed changes, which have not yet been finalized, have prompted protests from students who worry faculty and program cuts could undermine Linfield’s liberal arts offerings.
University officials have said they are also weighing real estate sales to plug budget holes.
A staffing shake-up is underway at the private Christian university in Ohio, which is laying off 27 employees but hiring at least 11 others as part of a restructuring plan, The Canton Repository reported.
Of the 27 employees cut, 15 are full-time and 12 are part-time.
Malone president Gregory Miller told the newspaper that the move was partly related to fiscal efficiency but also about emphasizing its Christian mission, including by hiring a campus pastor, which it does not currently have. Miller said Malone is now entering a “new chapter” with “a renewed emphasis on traditional chapel and small group Bible studies.”
The Catholic college in Vermont recently laid off 14 employees.
In a statement shared with Inside Higher Ed, Saint Michael’s officials called the cuts a response to “long-term shifts in enrollment, rising costs, and broader questions about the value of a college degree.” Officials said the cuts were “mission-driven changes to streamline programs and operations.”
The Catholic institution in Buffalo, N.Y., is laying off five campus police officers and three dispatchers as it replaces its campus public safety team with a private security firm, WKBW reported.
Canisius also offered buyouts to staff earlier this year as part of a $15 million cost-cutting effort.
The private university in Texas has the rare distinction on this list of being a wealthy institution.
Last month Rice launched buyouts for eligible staff members over 50, an effort that The Houston Chronicle reported is not tied to federal funding issues but rather plans for growth.
“This optional program, developed with thoughtful consideration, is intended to support long-serving employees who may be considering retirement or a career change, while also helping the university plan strategically for the future,” university officials told the newspaper.
Rice is offering staff buyouts even as its strategic plan calls for hiring 200 new faculty members.