Emails provided to Signal Akron show that University of Akron President RJ Nemer is beginning the process of making faculty and staff cuts.
The potential reductions mark one of the first challenges faced by Nemer, the businessman-turned-academic leader. In May, when he was named university president, Nemer inherited a $27 million deficit, the result of years of declines in enrollment, tuition money and state funding.
“To prioritize growth and best fulfill our student-centered commitments, we will need to adjust our workforce across some units to maximize our impact and mission,” Nemer wrote in an Oct. 24 email to university staff and faculty.
“This will be a challenging but necessary change,” he said in the email.
Nemer responded to Signal Akron’s reporting with a letter, saying “no stone will be left unturned” as the administration works to increase revenue and reduce expenses.
“Personnel reductions will be part of our natural evolution as an institution,” Nemer wrote in his letter to Signal Akron. “Voluntary attrition will help us partially effect the desired changes, and we intend to prioritize that method as we address our ongoing deficits.”
Currently, the university has 1,566 full-time employees, of which 521 are full-time faculty, according to data provided by officials.
“I have asked all operating units to look for funds that can be utilized to allow UA to transform and respond to contemporary educational demands,” Nemer wrote in his letter.
The university last laid off faculty in 2020, cutting 178 positions, including 96 unionized faculty, according to the Akron Beacon Journal.
In an email, Provost John Wiencek implored interested faculty to consider a “voluntary separation.” At this time, the administration is not pursuing broad faculty buyouts.
“We will be assessing instructional capacity versus enrollment in the coming months and will be proposing some reductions to our instructional staffing,” Wiencek wrote.
Nemer said the administration does not have a specific dollar amount or number of positions they’re looking to cut. Nemer also said in his letter they’re working with non-faculty staff to “renovate our staff training, career development and compensation structure.”
“We will be working closely with key bargaining units on campus over the next several years to include reallocation and attrition targets to meet our transformation goals,” Nemer wrote in his letter.
According to emails, Nemer plans to discuss recommendations for staffing reductions to the Board of Trustees in the spring. In an email, Nemer said he’s already begun budget reductions, starting with his own Office of the President. Nemer said annual expenditures in this department were recently reduced by $800,000.
Nemer also said cuts have been made to the athletic department’s budget, but he did not specify a dollar amount.
The cuts are spearheaded by Nemer and Wiencek, who wrote in an email to staff that he will continue to review potential reductions over the coming year. Wiencek’s email also said university officials will abide by the local American Association of University Professors bargaining agreement to reduce faculty on the payroll.
The university’s AAUP chapter did not respond to several emails seeking comment.
“We foresee some expenditure reduction over time, but this process will rely on job reassignment, attrition and shared service models,” Wiencek wrote.
University deficit reflects falling enrollment
When asked directly about the possibility of staff reductions at his State of the University address on Sept. 5 at the Akron Press Club, Nemer was noncommittal, saying the university and its Board of Trustees were in the early stages of evaluating their budget and “becoming the best doers with the resources we have.”
“We want to, obviously, invest in our growth, but do so prudently,” Nemer said. “It would be premature for me to comment on cuts and things like that, as we’re in the introductory phases of this.”
Why is the University of Akron considering reductions?
The university brings in nearly $240 million in revenue, including $130 million from student tuition. Its expenditures will total nearly $258 million in 2024, leaving the university operating at a $27 million deficit.
“Our University financials are strong, but we are drawing from our reserves and will likely continue to do so for a few more years,” Nemer wrote in his letter. “Growth in revenue will be matched with expenditure reductions over time.”
Student enrollment has been falling at the university for years, though it has largely stabilized this fall. Overall, the university has a fall 2024 enrollment of 14,813 students, a slight drop from 14,995 the previous fall semester.
In 2010, the university boasted a record 29,251 students.
Tuition is one of the most significant revenue streams at the university, which expects to bring in about $130 million in tuition revenue this school year, according to the most recent budget.
“I intend to take The University of Akron from its current flattening enrollment trajectory towards a persistent and manageable growth in our student population,” Nemer said in his letter.
Signal Akron’s Arielle Kass contributed to this report.
This story was updated to include comments from President RJ Nemer and updated staffing figures from the university.