Portland State University faculty, staff and students packed a board of trustees meeting on Nov. 21, 2024. University leadership has received pushback on looming faculty layoffs.
Courtesy of Portland State University American Association of University Professors
One thing was clear at a Portland State University Board of Trustees meeting Thursday: PSU faculty and students do not want university leaders to resolve its budget issues by cutting staff.
“Getting rid of experienced faculty just because they are easy to balance the budget is not a responsible way to run our university,” said Ariana Jacob, President of Oregon American Federation of Teachers and a Portland State professor. “Please don’t do it. Reverse the cuts.”
Dozens of professors, students and other PSU staff packed the Thursday afternoon meeting. The central topic was how the university plans to get back on solid financial ground. Portland State is facing an $18 million budget shortfall this year, largely driven by years of declining student enrollment.
The most recent report from the Higher Education Coordinating Commission found that PSU lost enrollment again this fall, even as most community colleges and public universities in Oregon are growing.
The campus community began to see parts of administrators' plans to fill its budget gap last month when nearly 100 non-tenure track faculty represented by the PSU chapter of the American Association of University Professors received notices of possible layoffs.
During public comment, union members urged PSU administrators to close the budget deficit through advocacy instead of faculty and staff cuts.
“Only investment in the people of this institution can create a flourishing and thriving university,” said PSU faculty member Elizabeth McMurtry. “Go shake Jordan Schnitzer’s, Phil Knight’s and the statehouse couch cushions and use that revenue to keep your workers.”
Students at the meeting said cutting the jobs of their professors could lead to further drops in enrollment at PSU.
“I want to firmly state that our faculty are not a liability,” said PSU student Sam Butler. “They are people and also the best tool this institution has to combat dropping enrollment.”
Members of Portland State University's Board of Trustees listen to student and faculty concerns over administrators' plans to solve the university's budget crisis on Nov. 21, 2024.
Tiffany Camhi / OPB
The university’s trustees have given PSU President Ann Cudd the task of pulling the university out of the red and they want to see results by the end of the 2024-2025 school year.
“In order to regain our footing and begin to grow enrollment again, we must get our financial house in order so that we can invest in all the areas that make Portland State shine,” said Cudd at the meeting.
Related: PSU begins layoff process for nearly 100 faculty members, more expected
Cudd and other senior administrators unveiled specific steps on how Portland State can reach financial sustainability. The draft plan, dubbed “Bridge to the Future,” identified four key areas intended to streamline university operations, support more students and staff, grow revenues and close its $18 million budget gap.
The plan explained that PSU’s continued decline in enrollment, a trend it’s seen for over a decade, goes hand-in-hand with falling student tuition revenue for the university. Student tuition and fees made up more than a third of PSU’s revenues last fiscal year. Dwindling enrollment, combined with rising expenses, has put Portland State under water.
Employee salaries and other compensation make up about 80% of PSU actual expenditures.
Faculty reduction could save at least $8M, administrators estimate
The draft plan noted that Portland State’s budget deficit is equal to the salaries of about 150 full-time employees, though it explicitly stated that the university is not proposing to solve its financial problems solely through layoffs. Cudd and other administrators at the meeting reiterated that the university’s financial sustainability plan is not set in stone.
“We are constantly refining how to achieve [sustainability] with as few faculty layoffs as possible,” said Cudd. “But these are necessary changes that will position us well in the future.”
Every division of Portland State will be slimmed down but academics has the most to lose.
Administrators estimate the university could save anywhere from $8 million to $12 million through a reduction of faculty and restructuring of courses and degrees offered at PSU’s colleges. PSU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences could take the biggest hit, with a targeted goal of reducing its budget by $7 million.
Portland State is also looking to minimize the impact of layoffs by encouraging some staff to retire early.
The retirement incentive, which launched last month, offers a one-time cash payout between $15,000 and $48,000 to faculty who choose to retire by Dec. 18. The cash incentive is funded through the state’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission. The university estimates it could save up to $4 million from retirements this year.
But this proposal may not do much to fend off layoffs of AAUP faculty who’ve already been notified of possible layoffs. Per the union’s contract, PSU must send finalized layoff notices to represented faculty by Dec. 13, five days before the deadline to apply for the retirement program.
This week’s meeting comes as AAUP has just a few days left in its current contract with the university, which ends on Nov. 30. PSU and AAUP have yet to agree on a new contract.