Not Out of the Woods Yet

The University of Iowa has so far dodged cuts and layoffs, but it looks as though that reprieve may be temporary. President Sally Mason told the university’s governing board last Thursday that UI may still be forced to cut up to 130 jobs next year to make ends meet, the Des Moines Register reports. An as-yet-to-be-determined number of layoffs could be in the university’s future, too; that number will depend on how many workers opt to retire early, the newspaper notes. Mason insisted, however, that nothing was set in stone: “That’s our worst-case scenario at this point in time,” she told the board. “I don’t want to alarm people because I think that could shrink.”

Iowa’s other two public universities are also bracing for layoffs next year, the Register reports:

Iowa State University President Gregory Geoffroy said the university is looking at 40 to 100 layoffs after retirements and attrition for fiscal year 2010. This includes about 20 expected layoffs within Extension Services, which will lose about three-quarters of its county directors to save $4.3 million a year.

The University of Northern Iowa needs to reduce its payroll by 80 to 100 positions, but up to 12 of those positions would likely be cut through layoffs after retirements and attrition, Vice President for Finance Tom Schellhardt said.

Meanwhile, as an article in the latest issue of The Chronicle notes, a lot of colleges that escaped the knife this year, thanks to federal stimulus money, are worried about next year’s budget.