NEW ORLEANS — A looming budget deficit and dwindling enrollment are forcing the University of New Orleans to make some tough decisions.
UNO President Kathy Johnson has ordered administrators to cut the school budget by 15 percent and reduce the athletic department by 25 percent.
"I am embarking on a path to really right size our budget as well our as physical footprint to better align with the numbers of faculty, staff and students that are at the University of New Orleans, today,” Johnson said.
UNO enrollment has dropped from a high of about 17,000 students in 2003 to just over 6,000 today.
“There has been a pretty slow and steady, continued decline in enrollment for about the last five years,” Johnson said.
Graduate student John Brajwan came to UNO from India to study naval architecture.
“There are other universities where they are offering more flexible timing and fee structures, so that might be one of the reasons, I believe, why students are going to other universities,” Brajwan said. “The city is full of vibes. People are so happy here. So, I believe advertising in international countries may help UNO to get more students here.”
The school is expected to cut a total of 70 positions the vast majority of which were already vacant. The United Campus Workers Union, which represents UNO’s faculty and staff is calling for the university to impose greater cuts to athletics.
Brajwan supports that idea.
“We have a good facility here. So, most of the students are more focused on studies, rather than sports,” Brajwan said.
“I’m trying to be open to all possible suggestions, but at this point, I believe that Division 1 athletics contributes to our enrollment and contributes to the student’s experience at the University of New Orleans,” Johnson said.
The union also wants to close most campus buildings on Fridays, creating a four-day, 40-hour workweek to save on energy and other utility costs.
“We certainly had thought about whether there might be energy savings that we could recoup in the summer only,” Johnson said. “Please know, I would never want to have a four-day week during the academic year because our students are here all the time.”
UNO is also expected to shutter Milneburg Hall, which has been plagued by HVAC, plumbing other maintenance problems. The Sociology, Anthropology and Political Science departments would be moved to other buildings on campus.
President Johnson says she would like to complete the budget cutting process by the end of the current state fiscal year which ends in June.
The United Campus Workers union released a statement in part saying, “Many departments across campus are already working with a skeleton crew, and further cuts will only make fulfilling UNO’s core mission and providing students with an affordable and quality education even harder.”
President Johnson said so far she has not received any formal communications about the union recommendations.