University of Wyoming President Laurie Nichols said that planned budget reductions for this fiscal year may fall short of goals. So, she told the UW trustees Wednesday to plan for $15 million dollars in budget cuts in the next fiscal year.
They had hoped to only cut $10 million, but UW has not yet realized forecast savings in early retirements or by increased teaching loads. The University is currently looking at cutting a variety of academic and non-academic programs after being told it would receive $40 million less in revenue over the next two years.
Nichols said cutting programs does not automatically mean the loss of faculty.
“Will we get rid of faculty? You know I think the decision on that is yet to be determined based upon where we go with this program review. We are hoping not to declare a financial exigency which is what we need to do in order to start releasing tenured faculty. It is our goal not to go there.”
Besides cuts, Nichols said UW will soon be looking at increases in tuition and fees that will reduce the amount of support they will need from the state.