Chron.com As enrollment falls, TSU cuts 178 jobs: "July 29, 2006, 2:29PM
As enrollment falls, TSU cuts 178 jobs
The downsizing comes in wake of 21.5% tuition hike, spending scandal
By MATTHEW TRESAUGUE
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
Texas Southern University announced on Friday the elimination of 178 jobs, including dozens of faculty positions, in an attempt to contain costs while enrollment continues to slide.
The decision caps off a painful summer for students at the nation's second-largest historically black university. In recent months they've seen TSU's once-popular president fired amid a spending scandal, a 21.5 percent tuition hike and now the layoffs.
Faced with a multimillion-dollar budget gap, TSU leaders made cuts across the board, with the house-cleaning reaching the executive offices. The firings included the university's chief fundraiser, who was also a vice president.
The cuts reduced the workforce by 16 percent, a rollback not seen in recent memory at TSU. But acting President Bobby Wilson said the current contraction represents 'our desire to continue to provide a high-quality education.'
A hiring and spending freeze that began in June remains in effect, Wilson said.
Regents cite other reasons
Administrators and regents blamed the university's troubles on rising energy and insurance costs and declining enrollment after six years of rapid growth.
Six months ago, they projected a surplus of more than $10 million for the fiscal year that ends Aug. 31. But officials now face a roughly $5 million shortfall in revenue and an anticipated $13.7 million shortfall for next year.
J. Paul Johnson, chairman of TSU's governing board, said campus leaders intended to balance the budget with the latest round of belt-tightening.
"You have to take care of the business," he said.
Johnson said the decision makers tried to leave areas with direct contact with students intact. Most of the job cuts came on the administrative side.
Still, the university eliminated 67 faculty positions, all of them belonging to visiting, non-tenured scholars. Daniel Adams, a professor of fine arts, said the cuts would have a far-reaching effect on an already overworked faculty.
"It's going to make things difficult for us," Adams said. "We need more faculty members, not less."
Somber mood on campusAround campus, the mood is grim. Earlier this year, the regents fired the university's president, Priscilla Slade, on the grounds that she misspent the school's money to furnish and landscape her house. She now faces a criminal investigation, which is expected to conclude next week.
Despite Slade's lavish spending, her supporters said she brought stability, while persuading donors, lawmakers and prospective students that the school is on the rise.
Regent Bill King said the university's current financial problems would have happened even if Slade were still in charge.
"Her administration ran the school on the theory that enrollment would continue to grow indefinitely," King said. "But every university hits a wall, and TSU is no exception. There was no plan for an enrollment decrease, and that makes this more painful."
Campus leaders forecast a 7 percent drop in attendance this fall, two years after a record enrollment of about 11,600 students.
Will students feel cuts?King said he anticipates the job cuts having relatively little effect on students.
"There was some fat that could be cut," he said. "I support what Dr. Wilson is doing. He has agonized over it and prayed over it. I know this wasn't an easy thing to do. But he is trying to make sure the university is financially viable."
Officials said the layoffs might not eliminate the shortfall, but regents said any additional measures would not include another tuition hike.
In May, the regents agreed to raise tuition and fees by 21.5 percent this fall. The increase was the first in two years. The school has tried to hold off increases because of the potential hardship for students, many of whom are working adults or from low-income families.
