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UNH President: Layoffs Inevitable But Not Immediate

UNH
University of New Hampshire in Durham.

Staff and faculty at the University of New Hampshire are bracing for layoffs after a letter this week from UNH President Jim Dean about plans to cut costs.

The decision comes in light of a report earlier this month from a consulting firm aimed at helping the university improve its finances. After comparing UNH’s finances to peer institutions, the Huron Consulting Group told the school it could save $10 million to $20 million annually with cuts to facilities, administrative research, and tech and library departments. 

Dean is developing committees to review Huron’s recommendations before taking next steps, but he says since personnel represents the university's biggest cost, cuts will inevitably involve staff.

“We would be disingenuous if we said: ‘Hey, we are going to be moving all this money and it’s not going to affect anybody,’” he said. “It’s acknowledging the obvious”

Dean says the school won't know for months who or how many people will be laid off. UNH is holding a series of four town hall meetings about the cuts and Dean will address questions at the State of the University address on Tuesday, Feb. 4.

 

Sarah Gibson joined NHPR's newsroom in 2018. She reports on education and demographics.
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