SMITHFIELD – Facing an $11 million budget deficit brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Bryant University President Ross Gittell, in a letter issued Friday to faculty and staff, said the university will have to make budget reductions, including to its workforce.
Gittell said that Bryant is facing a $5 million revenue drop, mainly from an expected decline in enrollment for the upcoming academic year, and it had to spend more than $6 million to address public-health matters on campus related to the pandemic. Those expenses include investments in testing procedures, increased cleaning protocols, using hotels for student housing and technology upgrades for classrooms, Gittell said.
As a result, the new president said the university has offered a one-time voluntary retirement program for eligible faculty and staff and will also continue to limit hiring for all positions.
Along with both Gittell and university cabinet members taking compensation reductions, Bryant, Gittell said, will also forego the general salary increases that were scheduled for October and plans to announce “potential” reductions in contributions to employee retirement accounts.
Also, furloughs and additional reductions in workforce across the university “will be necessary,” Gittell said. Bryant currently has 855 total employees, including 313 faculty, according to Providence Business News research.
“The personnel reductions at Bryant will not be as severe as at many institutions, but this does not make them any less difficult and unfortunate,” Gittell said. “I regret that these measures are required.”
Gittell also said that both he and the university cabinet explored “many financial scenarios” before deciding on the current measures. A consensus was made that it was important for Bryant to take these steps now, Gittell said, to ensure “the full strength of the institution.”
Bryant is also suspending all international travel and travel to states where COVID-19 positive rates are greater than 5% for faculty and staff, Gittell said, resulting in reduced funding for travel and entertainment. Other cuts, including to study-abroad programs, are also being made across the university.
“[T]his is a hard message for me to send and a very hard thing to do, especially in my first month as president,” Gittell said. “I cannot change the circumstances that we are in, but I am committed to keeping the Bryant community well informed as we go forward and to working to the very best of my ability to ensure a safe and healthy 2020-21 academic year and a strong future for our university.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
