UNO lays off staff amid budget crisis
The University of New Orleans sign sits in front of the University Center on Dec. 15, 2022. (Matthew Perschall for Louisiana Illuminator)
Approximately 30 University of New Orleans employees have been laid off amid the university's $10 million budget shortfall.
The layoffs will generate a savings of $1.9 million for the university, UNO chief financial officer Edwin Litolff said in an interview with the Illuminator.
The university has already taken significant steps to address the budget shortfall, including furloughing 290 employees and consolidating administrators.
No further layoffs or furloughs are planned at this time, Litolff said. Faculty will be offered the opportunity for voluntary furlough, he added. The university is prohibited from requiring faculty to be furloughed.
Litolff said the university will consider what further cuts need to be made once spring enrollment is processed and financial aid is dispersed.
UNO's attempts to rightsize its spending come after nearly two decades of declining enrollment. Its student numbers have struggled to recover since the failure of federal levees after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The school had an enrollment of around 17,000 before Katrina, with an immediate drop to around 6,000. For the fall 2024 semester, its total student body was 6,488.
Exiting the crisis will come down to the university's ability to enroll and retain students.
Hard budget times for the state during Gov. Bobby Jindal's two terms in office, from 2008-16, led to significant cuts for higher education, one of two large portions of Louisiana's budget unprotected in state law. Those cuts switched the burden of funding public colleges and universities from the state to students, leading to significant tuition hikes.
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