Portland State University may lay off dozens of faculty
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The public university is facing an $18 million budget deficit. Photo: Courtesy of Portland State University
Nearly 100 nontenure faculty at Portland State University received potential layoff notices this week.
Why it matters: The public college — Portland's largest — continues to struggle with declining enrollment and faces an $18 million budget deficit this year.
State of play: Termination letters will come by mid-December "for positions that will be terminated at the end of the academic year," spokesperson Christina Dyrness Williams told Axios in an email statement.
- The university is required to give six-month notice, per its agreement with the unions.
- The total number of staff that will be affected is still unknown, "as decisions about programs are still in process," the statement said.
What they're saying: Union representatives for faculty told OPB the cuts will only increase class sizes and workload for remaining staff.
The big picture: Over the last four years, enrollment at nearly every public and private college in Portland has been declining, and many are struggling to bring numbers up to pre-pandemic peaks.
- Just 3,247 new PSU undergraduates were welcomed onto campus this quarter, a nearly 23% decrease from 4,208 in 2021.
- Total enrollment (both undergraduate and graduate students) dropped nearly 19% between 2019 and 2023, according to PSU data.
- Yes, but: First-year, full-time student retention is ticking back up.
Between the lines: While public universities use student tuition to fund educational programs, drops in enrollment mean many rely more heavily on state and federal dollars to subsidize expenses.
The intrigue: PSU is also betting big on its Keller Auditorium replacement project as a way to address its enrollment and budgetary woes moving forward.
- "Portland's recovery and the development of a world-class performing arts and culture center on our downtown campus is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the city and for PSU," Dyrness Williams said.
- The City Council recently approved plans to build a $358 million Broadway-capable venue south of the campus near the Interstate 405 overpass, with construction beginning in 2027.
The other side: "Concrete and steel won't do anything for Portland State if there's nobody left to provide the mission-critical services of the university, which is teaching and learning," Emily Ford, president of the PSU chapter of the American Association of University Professors, which represents the university's 350 nontenure-track faculty, told OPB.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected by removing a reference to more potential layoffs in December, and clarifying that those who received a notice of possible layoff in October may receive confirmation in December.