EUGENE, Ore. – The University of Oregon announced Monday that it will lay off roughly 60 employees in the latest round of budget cuts, part of an ongoing effort to address a projected $25 million to $30 million deficit in its fiscal 2026 budget.
This brings the total to 117 staff, faculty, and administrators laid off so far this year, in addition to 59 vacant positions that have been eliminated, according to a community message from President Karl Scholz and Provost Christopher Long.
Budget Pressures Mounting
The layoffs, combined with other cost-saving measures, are expected to save the university $29.2 million. Another $4.3 million in cuts will come from non-personnel expenses such as supplies.
University leaders cited several factors fueling the deficit, including rising costs, declining out-of-state enrollment, and uncertainty around federal policies that affect both research funding and international student enrollment.
“As a tuition-driven institution, enrollment has a profound influence on our budget,” Scholz and Long explained. “We are trending far short of our target for non-resident students, who pay higher tuition and thus have an outsized impact on our budget.”
The university enrolls 23,834 students, with 51% Oregon residents and only 4% international students.
Who Is Impacted
The latest cuts include 20 faculty layoffs and the elimination of 14 vacant tenured faculty positions. University officials stressed that no tenure-track faculty were cut and no degree programs were eliminated, which they attributed to “careful consultation with deans, department heads, and the University Senate.”
Still, the brunt of the reductions fell on staff and administrators: 49 staff positions and 42 administrative roles were cut, along with 42 additional vacancies in those categories.
Faculty and Union Pushback
The workforce reductions have faced sharp criticism. The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) recently denounced the administration for what it described as “inadequate” faculty involvement in the decision-making process. The organization called the cuts an overreaction to a projected deficit.
The United Academics of the University of Oregon, the union representing faculty, researchers, and librarians, also condemned the move, calling the layoffs “hasty, irreversibly damaging cuts.”
Union leaders have suggested alternatives such as:
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Salary cuts for high-paid administrators
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Buyouts and freezes to administrative hiring
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Redirecting funds from the athletics department
University leaders, however, rejected those proposals, saying they would provide only “temporary cost savings” and fail to address long-term financial challenges.
A Difficult Outlook
In May, Scholz and Long warned the campus community of more dramatic changes to come, citing “multiple federal actions that have ceased or paused research funding at a scale the university cannot replace.” They also pointed to immigration policies that may deter international students, further weakening tuition revenue.
Meanwhile, Oregon’s state budget calls for just a 2.8% increase in public funding for fiscal 2026 — a figure that falls well short of the university’s expense growth.
Even before this year’s disruptions, the university’s fiscal 2024 operating loss (before state appropriations and investment revenue) had expanded by more than 50%, reaching $350.5 million.
With financial pressures mounting and faculty groups pushing back, the University of Oregon faces tough choices ahead as it works to stabilize its budget while maintaining its academic mission.
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