The administration at Western Illinois University now has approval from the Board of Trustees to move ahead with layoffs.
“This is the difficult year. This is the year that Western Illinois University is taking difficult but necessary action,” said Interim President Dr. Kristi Mindrup during a special board meeting on Tuesday.
“This is the day that we make the conscious decision to not pass the buck to future students, and current and future faculty, staff, and administration. With all other options exhausted, this is the work that has been handed to us.”
The board voted unanimously to approve a resolution that authorizes a staff reduction. Some in the audience booed as each trustee announced their vote in support of the motion.
The number of layoffs was not released, and Mindrup said the administration is working diligently to minimize that number.
“That’s why sometimes when we seem evasive about how many is it going to be – we’re trying to make that as few as possible,” she said.
Mindrup, who took office on April 1, said she is open to any ideas to generate revenue and save costs. She said WIU must stabilize its finances.
She said Western will move forward by positioning itself to strengthen retention, expand into new markets, innovate to attract adult and online students, foster equity and access for first generation and underrepresented students, serve the region’s workforce development needs, and more.
“For any wondering what is the plan, that is the plan,” Mindrup said.
BoT Chairperson Carin Stutz said the board’s highest priority is to create a sustainable future for WIU. She said the board’s charge is oversight, not management.
“Over the last few years, we have strongly pushed for action, including personnel changes, but we cannot make the changes ourselves,” Stutz said.
“We have been advocating for bold, decisive action for the last three years both in public meetings and in private conversations. We’ve made very concrete suggestions, but we cannot force action.”
She said the university has tapped into restricted funds in the past to bridge budget gaps, but those funds have now been exhausted. And she said the university must address its structural budget deficit.
She said the current administration is taking the bold, decisive actions the board advocated for to ensure Western has a stable and sustainable financial future.
The buck has been passed in recent years
Ketra Roselieb, Executive Director of Financial Affairs, told trustees that WIU finished Fiscal Year 2021 in the black by $376,000.
But the university has spent more than it took in since then: a $4 million deficit in FY 2022, a $12.4 million deficit in FY 2023, and an $8.2 million deficit in FY 2024, which ended on June 30, 2024.
She also said the university’s income fund cash balance “went negative” after the first year of the deficit spending, forcing WIU to rely on cash from other unrestricted funds.
“With deficit spending in Fiscal Years 2023 and 2024, the cash balances of the university have declined to critical levels, forcing the magnitude and urgency of the decisions that need to be made,” Roselieb said.
‘The absolutely wrong path’
Merrill Cole, WIU Chapter President of the University Professionals of Illinois, which represents faculty, said faculty layoffs will ultimately hurt students.
Cole told reporters after the meeting that he wants to work with Mindrup to help Western succeed, and believes she wants the best for the university.
“But I think that she’s chosen the absolutely wrong path to do that,” he said.
He said the union has not been told how many faculty members will be laid off, and he believes layoffs are happening too quickly. He said the board allowed deficit spending for several years.
“And now all of sudden we have to solve everything in six months. That’s fiscal insanity. You cannot solve a multi-year budget problem by making quick fixes,” Cole said.
He said layoffs haven’t moved the university forward in the past and they don’t make sense now.
Cole said UPI will work “to stop the Board of Trustees from tearing down the university.” He said everything is on table regarding what the union might do next.
‘Optimistic complacency’
A dozen people addressed the board at the start of the meeting, and several others wrote letters to trustees.
Among those who spoke, Eldon Brown, President of the Alumni Council, which governs the WIU Alumni Association, said the university faces financial challenges that require more than minor adjustments.
“Years of optimistic complacency have brought us to this point,” he said.
“You may not have created this problem, but it is yours to solve.”
He said layoffs are heartbreaking and deeply regrettable, but that there is an obligation to rebuild and reimagine what WIU can be.
“Together, we can turn this moment of crisis into a foundation for lasting success and innovation,” Brown said.
Larry Balsamo offered a couple suggestions.
Balsamo, who worked 40 years at WIU as a professor, department chair, and on-campus admissions counselor, said the current administration should be kept in place. He said Western needs stability in leadership.
He also suggested the board create a blue-ribbon panel of around a dozen people, including faculty members, students, and local residents.
“They need to begin immediately addressing such issues as attraction and retention of students, academic standards, Western’s image and place in higher education,” he said.
Balsamo said they should be given a finite timeline for producing a report.
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