Content area
In a letter to Wittenberg University students and staff this week, university leaders said upcoming budget cuts, while still significant, won’t affect quite as many employees as first stated last month.
The letter says Wittenberg’s board of directors has decided to “move forward with only 24 faculty position eliminations, three of which will be achieved via retirements.”
The original statement from the university mentioned the reduction of 30 faculty positions, along with increased use of online models of learning. Faculty members at Wittenberg said Friday that the music and world languages programs had been identified for closure.
The letter from Board Chair William Edwards and university President Michael Frandsen also says the planned reduction of 45 staff positions has seen some adjustment.
Edwards and Frandsen said approximately half of those 45 positions “are currently unoccupied following some internal transitions.”
Asked for further explanation, Karen Gerboth, Wittenberg’s vice president of marketing & communications, said Friday, “because some employees are being assigned to open positions, and some open positions are not being filled, the reductions impact less people.”
The university said “details of the notification process are still being determined.” Earlier statements said the school hoped to finalize the details of the plan by Sept. 15.
“We recognize that this is a difficult and uncertain time for all of us as we work to fully eliminate forecasted financial losses by fiscal year 2027 by reducing faculty and staff positions,” the letter said. “However, since the start of the budgetary hardship process, the board has had a singular focus: to preserve the best of Wittenberg and ensure the university thrives.”
Lori Askeland, American Association of University Professors advocacy chapter president at Wittenberg said Friday some cuts have already been announced. She said faculty and students are upset that the music and world languages programs at Wittenberg will be discontinued after 180 years.
“These programs represent key areas of the arts and humanities, and are core to our mission of producing ‘global citizens’ and ‘wholeness of person,’” Askeland said. “Music brings our community together, and language connects us to other worlds, other world views. Many of us are simply devastated by this loss.”
Askeland said those two programs account for 10 faculty members that would be cut, while the other faculty cuts were to be announced as soon as Friday afternoon.
Askeland shared a photo of the “Wally Witt” statue in front of the student center, where people upset about the cuts had put tape across his eyes and mouth, some of the tape strips bearing the names of faculty members.
Wittenberg is a private liberal arts university that was established in 1845 and operates just north of downtown Springfield. The university said it had 1,288 undergraduate students and 45 graduate students as of fall 2023, along with 25 intercollegiate athletic teams in NCAA Division III.
The university recorded a $17 million deficit in the 2022-23 school year, according to its IRS form 990 tax records examined by the News-Sun.
Edwards and Frandsen in their letter cited an “unshakeable” belief in Wittenberg, and the ability of its faculty and staff to “transform students’ lives.” They said the ongoing process has “allowed us to see beyond our immediate needs and into a stronger, more forward-facing future.”
Staff Writer Jessica Orozco contributed to this report
Copyright Cox Newspapers, Inc. 2024