St. Norbert College announced it is eliminating 29 positions immediately with an additional 12 positions to be eliminated at the end of the 2024 academic year.
College leaders said the higher education industry has been “disrupted” and the layoffs were necessary to control costs. Officials said two-thirds of the school’s operating budget is personnel costs.
St. Norbert President Laurie Joyner took over in July. St. Norbert College was founded in 1898 and has about 2,000 students, according to its website.
“Despite these cuts, we remain deeply committed to delivering on our promise to foster the intellectual, spiritual and personal development of all of our students,” a college spokesperson said. “College administration has been in touch with the student government association, and those conversations are ongoing. Services for students will continue uninterrupted.”
The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh announced layoffs of more than 200 staff in August to address an $18 million budget deficit it said was the result in part of a decline of higher education participation rates in Wisconsin.
