Faculty, program cuts loom at WVU
Nearly 170 West Virginia University professors’ jobs are in jeopardy after the deficit-laden university recommended this week to eliminate 32 academic programs, merge or otherwise combine 12 others, and cut faculty positions in 22 departments.
If the recommended cuts are made, the university’s public administration department and world languages, literatures and linguistics department would be eradicated. WVU officials are considering a plan to end language requirements for all students.
Other programs that could see significant cuts to their faculties include the computer science and electrical engineering program, the School of Art and Design, the School of Music, the plant and soil sciences program, and the mathematical and data sciences program.
Cuts would impact 147 undergraduate students and 287 graduate students, according to WVU. Twelve undergraduate majors and 20 graduate majors would disappear.
WVU posted the recommended cuts on its provost’s office website Friday afternoon after faculty members learned whether their programs were on the chopping block. Impacted departments can file an intent to appeal the recommendations by Aug. 18.
The university’s board of governors will vote on the recommended cuts Sept. 15.
The proposed cuts come after the university discontinued 12 graduate and doctorate programs in June. The same month, the school increased 2023-24 tuition rates by nearly 3%.
WVU is currently trying to cut a $45 million deficit that is projected to potentially reach $75 million by 2028, according to The Daily Athenaeum, WVU’s student newspaper. University officials said in April that they intended to cut costs by $21 million during the 2023-24 school year.
West Virginia Campus Workers, the union representing WVU employees, has sharply criticized the plan to cut faculty positions and academic programs.
“This plan will be a disaster for the reputation of the university, for the residents of West Virginia and for students from all over the world who receive their education here,” says part of a statement on the union’s website.
School officials have attributed the deficit to declining enrollment and higher employee costs. Between fall 2013 and fall 2022, the Morgantown campus lost about 16% of its student body, to 24,741 students from 29,466.
Budget concerns became heightened this spring after school officials learned that an increase in insurance premiums for public employees would raise university costs by $10 million.
And, like universities across the Northeast, WVU faces other rising costs that have been caused by inflation, continuing pandemic backlash, a dwindling college-age population, and decreased trust in higher education.
WVU President Gordon Gee attributed the possible cuts to the changing landscape of higher education and the challenges that follow.
“While we view these preliminary recommendations for reductions and discontinuations as necessary, we are keenly aware of the people they will affect,” Mr. Gee said in the statement. “We do not take that lightly. These faculty are our colleagues, our neighbors and our friends. These decisions are difficult to make.”
In Pennsylvania, Penn State University faces a $63 million debt that school leaders hope to balance by fiscal year 2025. Financial concerns at University Park have brought on tuition increases, a hiring freeze and funding slashes.