By: Zach Wendling | Nebraska Examiner
Nearly $9 million in academic program eliminations, mergers head to NU regents Dec. 5; other cuts set in stone
LINCOLN — University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Rodney Bennett has finalized a plan to cut up to $27.5 million from UNL’s budget.
About $9 million in academic cuts go to the University of Nebraska Board of Regents for a final vote in December. This includes $4 million in anticipated savings from department mergers, which an advisory committee supported almost unanimously. Most other cuts are now set in stone, though many details still need to be ironed out.
“I have a strong conviction that even though what we are doing is very difficult, it is in the best interest of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s long-term future,” Bennett said in a Nov. 10 email announcing his final plan.
The UNL chancellor’s latest proposal would cut at least $20.76 million, depending on the regents, and assuming the mergers are accepted. The number could be larger with not-yet-detailed executive administrative “efficiencies” sought and nearly 70 tenured faculty offered a buyout package.
The current minimum total would be just shy of the $21 million Bennett has said is needed to close an ongoing “structural deficit” at UNL. Bennett’s plan also calls for $6.5 million in additional cuts meant to “help safeguard against repetitive budget reduction cycles.” The total is $27.5 million in the latest round of cuts.
The finalized plan shares many similarities with the proposal Bennett unveiled Sept. 12. Here is an in-depth breakdown of the final budget plan and the status of each line item.
Academic program eliminations ($6.74 million) and department realignments ($2 million)*
Nearly $9 million of UNL’s budget reduction consists of eliminating or merging academic departments, which the regents will consider at a Dec. 5 meeting.
Bennett’s updated cuts to the regents no longer include a call to eliminate academic programs in community and regional planning ($475,000) and landscape architecture ($225,000), both in the College of Architecture. Instead, the college will find the same savings through an internal plan that doesn’t require a vote of the regents.
The areas proposed for elimination, as well as nearly all degrees and the 51.5 faculty serving within them, are:
- Earth and Atmospheric Sciences ($1.85 million, 13 positions eliminated).
- Statistics ($1.75 million, 12 positions eliminated).
- Educational Administration ($1.69 million, 15.5 positions eliminated).
- Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design ($1.45 million, 11 positions eliminated).
In the case of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, some faculty will be “strategically” retained whose teaching, research and service “align with the needs and priorities of Nebraska.” Certain courses supporting federal requirements for meteorology careers and undergraduate minors will still be offered.
The master’s degree in educational administration will also be retained.
Departments the university plans to merge, with estimated savings of $1 million each, will develop plans in the spring and be subject to a later vote of the NU Board of Regents. Those are the departments of Entomology and Plant Pathology as well as Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication.
An advisory committee of faculty, staff and students narrowly supported just two of the eliminations: educational administration (11-10) and textiles, merchandising and fashion design (12-9). It opposed cutting earth and atmospheric sciences (9-11) and statistics (8-13).
The committee unanimously supported the entomology and plant pathology merger, and just one member opposed merging the agricultural economics and leadership departments.
In an unsigned Oct. 24 letter, the committee urged Bennett to allow more time to find alternatives. The academic cuts were announced and forwarded to the regents in less than two months.
The committee said it also did not have time to consider department revenues in weighing cuts.
“Multiple units noted in their hearings that they are revenue-positive, meaning that elimination of those units may end up costing the university more than it would save,” the letter states.
A UNL spokesperson said administrators reviewed “all aspects” of the proposed programs for elimination, including tuition and research, and they expect the cuts to yield long-term savings.
*This is the only budget item that requires separate regents approval.
Buyout program for tenured faculty ($5.5 million)
Tenured faculty who were at least 62 years old and had at least 10 years of service to NU by their time of separation were eligible to apply for a buyout program in September. About 130 faculty applied.
While the system intended to allow as many faculty to participate as possible, each campus reserved the right to limit awardees “to preserve the viability of programs and services, as well as to remain fiscally responsible.”
This month, campus leaders in Lincoln, Omaha and Kearney made offers to 116 faculty:
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln: 69 faculty.
- University of Nebraska at Omaha: 26 faculty.
- University of Nebraska Medical Center: 11 faculty.
- University of Nebraska at Kearney: 10 faculty.
Faculty must accept the separation agreement by Jan. 5. Awardees would receive a lump sum payment of 70% of one year of their annual base salary they are paid as of Oct. 1.
UNL Executive Vice Chancellor Mark Button had previously said UNL would achieve savings if more than 30 faculty participated in the program. An estimate of savings from a larger number of participants was not immediately available, in part because some positions would be replaced sooner than others and because salary levels differ.
Across-the-board 1% cut ($4.61 million)
An approximate 1% reduction in all state-aided budgets across UNL (budgets made up of tuition and taxpayer dollars). Unchanged from the original budget proposal.
UNL executive administrative reductions and staff ‘efficiencies’ ($2.95 million)
The UNL spokesperson said these cuts are “still in process” and are not planned to be announced until after the Dec. 5 regents meeting. The budget proposal says some administration and staff positions will be eliminated in Bennett’s office, the Executive Vice Chancellor’s Office and the Business and Finance Department.
Bennett’s salary is $732,000. He joined UNL in July 2023 with his contract currently set to expire June 30.
The chancellor faces a possible “no confidence” vote from the UNL Faculty Senate in an emergency meeting set for 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Nebraska East Union. While Bennett has not responded directly to the “no confidence” effort, in his Nov. 10 email, he said he followed university processes to pursue budget reductions.
“The Executive Leadership Team and I worked hard to adhere to this comprehensive process — both in letter and in spirit — and to complete all steps within the provided timeline,” Bennett said.
Private philanthropy to cover mandated scholarships ($2.5 million)
UNL leaders continue to work with the University of Nebraska Foundation to secure private funding, but there was no further update at this time, the UNL spokesperson said.
NU President Jeffrey Gold is continuing to work with the Nebraska Legislature to find solutions to unfunded tuition remissions — mandatory scholarships that lawmakers have said colleges must provide — as costs have ballooned in recent years.
State-mandated tuition remission expenses for 2025 totaled $8.8 million across NU. Institutional tuition remission expenses, such as the Nebraska Promise, Regents Scholars or Presidential Scholars, totaled $48.4 million.
It’s unclear what slice of scholarships Bennett is trying to fill specifically at UNL. This is the lone part of the UNL budget proposal that seeks or suggests private philanthropy as a solution.
College budget reductions ($1.6 million)
There will be $550,000 less state-aided funding for graduate assistantships in research or teaching in the College of Arts and Sciences ($325,000) and the College of Engineering ($225,000).
The College of Architecture will still find $700,000 to cut, but from an alternative plan to preserve academic degrees in community and regional planning and landscape architecture. The budget proposal says this will mean “streamlining operations, administration, staffing and curriculum.” The advisory committee rejected the architectural cuts 19-2 and supported the alternative.
Also included is $350,000 in specific savings for the College of Fine and Performing Arts. The original idea had been to require the Glenn Korff School of Music and Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film to share a director, a plan that is no longer being pursued as the college found “alternative budget savings.” Bennett’s plan did not detail those alternatives.
The advisory committee, while not asked to review the proposal, split 7-7-7 in favor, opposition and abstention regarding the idea. Bennett did not disclose the idea in his original proposal.
College administrative and staff ‘efficiencies’ ($750,000)
Administrative and college staff positions, as well as certain operating expenses, will be eliminated in the Colleges of Business, Engineering and Journalism and Mass Communications.
While some specifics are still being finalized, these cuts will create less flexibility in offering summer and elective courses, according to college deans. A separate broadcasting degree will also be formally merged with journalism. The degree paths already share significant similarities, and the three overseeing faculty are retiring, either already planned or via the buyout package.