Monday, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh issued layoff notices to 140 employees. “We announced in August layoffs would be part of our plan to address an $18 million deficit. That early notice in no way lessens the difficulty of this day,” said UW Oshkosh Chancellor Andrew Leavitt. “The actions we are taking are structured with stewardship: to support UWO’s core academic mission, to have minimal impact on students and student success and to sustain an institution this region, the state and its people will rely on for
decades to come.” The layoffs affect UWO administrative employees and staff; no faculty members were laid off today. The University is providing resources, benefits information, job placement assistance and other support to employees affected by layoffs. In addition to the layoffs noted above, the scope of UWO’s workforce reduction plan includes:
76 UWO employees who have accepted the voluntary retirement offer. That number includes 49 staff members, 21 faculty members and six instructional academic staff.
The number of layoffs plus voluntary retirements is 216.
34.5 vacant positions will remain unfilled. This brings the total number of positions impacted by layoffs, voluntary retirement and open positions to about 250.
The last day of employment for laid off employees is Jan. 20, 2024.
The last day of employment for those taking part in the voluntary retirement program varies but is no later than Jan. 9, 2024.
Layoffs, voluntary retirements and open positions are expected to result in a total salary savings of about $14.7 million: about $8 million from layoffs, $4.76 million from voluntary retirements and $1.9 million from open positions. Twelve UWO leaders (serving in 10 positions) are being impacted by layoff, retirement or reassignment. This equates to 22 percent of the positions in the administrative organizational chart. Changes include the elimination of one of four of UWO’s vice chancellor positions, four associate and assistant chancellors, four director-level positions and three other administrative posts. Many more UWO administrative employees have been notified of layoff outside of those identified in the organizational chart. The university is committed to remaining a Universities of Wisconsin leader in containing the administrative cost.
In fall 2022, UWO (and UW-La Crosse) had the lowest administrative expenditures as a percentage of overall expenditures (8 percent) of any Universities of Wisconsin comprehensive institution, according to the Universities of Wisconsin Accountability Dashboard. This is the result of the entire UWO community’s focus on channeling students and the states investments into the core academic mission. UWO’s Institutional Realignment Plan (IRP) to address the $18 million deficit during the 2023-24 academic year includes the layoffs, voluntary retirement program, furloughs and nonrenewal of instructional academic staff contracts, which are separately managed by college deans and academic department chairs to respond to student enrollment. In the coming months, UWO will work through the next stages of the IRP to generate further savings and revenues. A separate academic planning process, led by UWO Provost Ed Martini, college deans and a faculty workgroup, is examining the current structure of the four UWO colleges and academic programs. Heading into fiscal year 2025, UWO will continue reviewing non-academic program budgets, university service contracts and building and energy usage on the Oshkosh campus for additional savings.
