The University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, has announced that it will cut more than half of its colleges in a cost-saving initiative resulting from the Chinese virus pandemic. The University has not announced which of its colleges will get the ax yet.
University of Akron President Gary Miller announced that the school is set to eliminate six of its eleven colleges, according to a report from Cleveland.com, which added that Miller did not clarify which of the colleges will be affected, but noted that a follow-up announcement will be made in the “coming days.”
The university president added that the school plans to decrease its number of colleges in order to “reduce administrative costs, match long-standing enrollment trends and build on our strengths — [and] to bring about a greater level of integration among our academic programs in order to support interdisciplinary and innovation.”
The report added that the university’s cuts are part of a plan to offset the $65 to $70 million in decreased revenue stemming from the Wuhan coronavirus crisis.
Miller also warned that the athletics budget will be “significantly” reduced within “the next week or so,” adding that pay cuts and a hiring freeze can also be expected.
The university’s eleven schools include the following:
- Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences
- College of Applied Science and Technology
- College of Business Administration
- College of Engineering
- College of Health Professions
- College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering
- The Graduate School
- LeBron James Family Foundation College of Education
- School of Law
- Williams Honors College
- Wayne College
The University of Akron’s announcement arrives amid Ohio governor Mike DeWine announcing that $110 million will be cut from the state’s public funding for institutions of higher education.
Ohio University has also made some cuts of its own in response to the financial burdens resulting from the Chinese virus pandemic. This week, the university laid off professors from the gender and race studies departments.
The school has also fired 140 unionized employees who worked in the university’s custodial, groundskeeping, and maintenance departments.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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