CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland State University is laying off 14 employees and is expected to cut more jobs once it approves a buyout plan first announced in April.
Cleveland State spokeswoman Reena Arora-Sanchez said Tuesday that the university had laid off 14 employees across campus. She did not say which positions were cut or which departments were affected.
In a statement, Arora-Sanchez said this week’s 14 layoffs are part of Cleveland State’s overall cost-cutting measures as it struggles with a budget deficit. A report Cleveland State released in May said it could lose $153 million over five years if it doesn’t make changes.
“Every unit on the CSU campus has been actively and diligently involved in efforts to bring expenses more closely in line with expected revenues in light of declining enrollment across the country and at CSU,” Arora-Sanchez said.
The university’s fall semester begins on Saturday.
Many public and private universities are struggling with a difficult financial situation.
In northeast Ohio alone, state auditors released a report in recent months showing that Lakeland Community College is on the verge of a financial crisis, Baldwin Wallace University has cut jobs, and Notre Dame College has closed after 102 years.
In April, Cleveland State’s board of directors approved a plan to use $9 million for a “voluntary severance package.” Faculty and staff with at least 10 years of experience were eligible for voluntary severance. The deadline to apply for the severance package has passed, but Cleveland State has not yet announced how many employees will take advantage of the severance package.
Of Cleveland State University’s 527 faculty members, 332 would be eligible to apply for the severance package, according to a presentation to the university’s Faculty Senate earlier this year. The same is true for 391 of the 891 non-teaching staff members. The severance packages are expected to save Cleveland State University $11 million this year and $27 million over the next two years.
Cleveland State has also frozen admissions to 42 degree programs this fall. At least 20 of them will be restructured or eliminated, the university told cleveland.com in July.
The university has also closed the dormitories in Fenn Tower because the building is in need of repairs.
Sean McDonnell is a business reporter for cleveland.com and the Plain Dealer. You can reach him at [email protected].
