Portland State Layoffs Loom, Despite Faculty Calls for Pause

Enrollment at Portland State University has fallen by more than 20 percent since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The university president is pursuing cost reductions to address a budget deficit, including layoffs affecting 52 members represented by a faculty and academic professional workers union. The provisional plan also calls for eliminating the conflict resolution and university studies departments, along with reductions in seven other departments and schools. Almost half of the proposed layoffs are tied to the centralized general education area. The university estimates it must cut $35 million over two fiscal years to close the deficit, citing reserve depletion and the need to maintain infrastructure for 30,000 students while serving about 20,000.

"Enrollment at Portland State University has declined by more than 20 percent since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its president is now pushing to lay off faculty and eliminate two departments, despite objections and no-confidence votes from employees. President Ann Cudd says she hasn't made any final decisions yet. She has scaled back designs for cuts she announced in March and says the plan won't be set until after the latest campus comment period ends June 13."

"But her current provisional plan includes axing 52 members of the union representing the university's full-time faculty and nonfaculty academic professional workers. Leaders of that union, PSU-American Association of University Professors, say a dozen tenured faculty are among those on the chopping block. The two departments that would be eliminated-alongside reductions in seven other departments and schools-are conflict resolution and university studies, Portland State's centralized general education department. Almost half of the proposed layoffs are in that single area."

"The university estimates it must cut costs by $35 million over the next two fiscal years to close a budget deficit, Cudd told reporters earlier this month. "Enrollment is the driver of this," she said. "Over 14 years, we've shrunk by a third." According to the plan she released, "We are maintaining an infrastructure built for 30,000 students while currently serving 20,000." Other options "have been exhausted" and "incrementalism" has failed, it says."

"With the university spending more than $12 million in education and general reserve funds this fiscal year-and with those reserves "facing total depletion" within the next two years-the plan says, "The time for temporary fixes has passed. We cannot maintain these spending levels if we are to remain a solvent and thriving university." "I wish that I didn't have to make these kinds of decisions," Cudd told r"

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