Overview
- A Dec. 3 email extended voluntary separation packages to 169 employees—about 40% of full-time faculty—with decisions due Dec. 15 and a warning that layoffs could follow if uptake is low.
- The plan merges five colleges into two academic units and pauses almost all doctoral admissions for 2026–27, with clinical psychology previously identified as an exception.
- The AAUP labeled the measures extreme, said more than 30 programs—mostly in the humanities and social sciences—are slated for elimination, and accused leaders of sidestepping shared governance.
- University officials defend the overhaul as a faculty-involved effort to close the deficit, alongside tiered salary reductions and an 18‑month pause on retirement contributions.
- Roughly 300 students, faculty, and staff rallied outside a Dec. 10 board meeting to demand rescinded buyouts and a $200,000 salary cap, as the university confirmed it declined a $1 million trustee offer for PhD funding.