The University of Wyoming’s budget for the next fiscal year has to cover a $15 million shortfall.
A battle over UW’s budget during the most recent state legislative session was decided in UW’s favor. Threatened with a $40 million cut, UW and its supporters eventually clawed back every cent.
But all is not well in the university’s checkbook. Declining enrollment, rising inflation and diminished investment earnings have left UW with a $15 million shortfall for the fiscal year, which starts next month.
“They just all conspired this year to kind of create the situation that we have,” UW President Ed Seidel explained during a UW Board of Trustees meeting in May.
UW’s total annual revenue is almost $700 million between state appropriations, federal research grants, student tuition and other sources. During a follow-up trustees meeting Wednesday, Trustee Laura Schmid-Pizzato explained how UW would cover the gap.
“We have come up with a couple of options that would get us to the full $15 million and have a balanced budget,” she said.
UW will balance the fiscal year 2027 budget by implementing a 2% reduction across all colleges, by not filling vacant positions and by pulling from reserves.
On Wednesday, UW trustees also approved up to half a million dollars in spending for further recruitment efforts.
A separate but related process is underway to identify even more savings in future budgets, a requirement from state lawmakers.
