Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
Wright State University, faced with enrollment declines and a sagging economy, will cut jobs while shoring up STEM-related degree programs, moves school leaders believe will allow it to meet the demand for jobs and maintain its more than $1.5 billion economic impact on the region.
As part of the reduction plan, the university announced last week it will cut up to 113 faculty positions ― many of them in the liberal arts department ― and boost programs that include medical and engineering.
It’s not clear what impact Wright State’s job cuts will have on the region long-term, but given the continued enrollment declines and the struggling economy, the university made a decision it believes is in its best interest to remain viable, said Cassie Barlow, president of Southwestern Ohio Council on Higher Education.
“Universities go through times where they need to cinch their belts a little bit, and they go through times where they can let their belt out a little bit,” she said.
Likewise, institutions have to adjust and make tough decisions about cutting certain degree programs and shoring up others based on the community’s needs, Barlow said, referring to WSU’s decision to trim its liberal arts department and beef up its STEM-related programs.
