University of Wisconsin Oshkosh officials are projecting an unprecedented structural deficit of up to $18 million in the current fiscal year.
During a virtual press conference Thursday afternoon, UW System President Jay Rothman said the university will be taking “unfortunate and difficult actions” to reduce expenses and absorb the deficit.
These actions include furloughs, layoffs, budget cuts and restructuring.
In an Aug. 3 message to the UW Oshkosh community, Chancellor Andrew Leavitt wrote:
“To start to alleviate our costs, intermittent furloughs will commence with September 2023 pay periods and will be planned to remain in effect through the June 2024 pay periods.
“We also need to examine our UWO workforce levels. Hard decisions are ahead. Layoffs and nonrenewals are unavoidable, with notifications coming later this fall semester.
“We will review and possibly discontinue any self-supporting programs that do not recover costs. And we will review all centrally-funded commitments for FY2024 which may lead to hibernating some programs for a time.”
While the university intends to lay off more than 200 positions, Leavitt said there are no plans to cut faculty or academic programs at this time. Earlier this year, UWO partnered with Oshkosh Community YMCA to retain its child care center operations.
Rothman pointed to several causes of the deficit including the decline of higher education participation rates in Wisconsin; the decline of state support which has increased reliance on tuition revenue; a decade-long tuition freeze; and rising inflation.
To read the entire message to the community, click here.
