Baldwin Wallace University students, faculty and staff are left reeling after the university  announced several staff eliminations along with program cuts in efforts to reduce the previously projected $20 million deficit.  

These program cuts and staff eliminations come as the university is contending with a $20 million deficit,  it said in an Oct. 1 press release.  

According to the release, two executive level positions, eight staff positions and 18 faculty positions were among the eliminated as a part of these university-wide reductions.  

hile some staff and faculty positions have been completely eliminated all together, some faculty and staff had the option to voluntarily leave BW through a voluntary separation agreement that was offered recently. 

Nineteen faculty members accepted this offer bringing the total faculty population at BW from 213 faculty at the beginning of the semester to 164.  

In addition to the program eliminations made in the spring, ten additional undergraduate and graduate programs will no longer be offered after the 2024-2025 academic year, the university said. 

The undergraduate and graduate programs being eliminated include Music History, Jazz, Visual/Studio Art, Communication Studies, Film Studies, Public Relations, Public Health, Master of Public Health, and the Digital Marketing-to-MBA and Leadership in Higher Education MAEd graduate programs. 

These changes are the second wave of cuts to hit the university this year, after the university laid off 23 full and part time faculty and staff members back in the spring.  

According to the press release, the cuts this fall are expected to reduce the University’s operating budget by nearly $13.5 million.  

However, with all of the changes coming to BW, many students are concerned about their  future at BW, the fates of their professors, and the way that this matter was communicated to the staff, faculty and students at BW 

Senior music history major Katie Ritzema, a student who has been affected by the recent changes, said that the way the university communicated the news was what bothered her the most. 

“I think one of the things that upsets me the most is just the way that BW went about communicating it, and that they did not communicate it,”  Ritzema said. “They didn’t tell any of the faculty or the students ahead of time. The faculty that I spoke to was like, ‘yeah, we found out when you did.’” 

As cutbacks continue to take place on BW’s campus, more students are growing concerned, especially younger students, Ritzema said. 

“I’ve talked to other underclassmen that aren’t music history majors, and I know that they’re all, at least for my consensus, feeling very on edge and uncertain,” Ritzema said. 

Institutions of higher education across the country have also been facing financial difficulties as enrollment has declined. Institutions like Cleveland State University have been cutting stuff and programs and Notre Dame College closed its doors earlier this year.