UNLV to eliminate nine departments, 18 degree programs, 215 jobs
Las Vegas Review-Journal
June 21, 2011
Nine departments will be eliminated at UNLV. Eighteen degree programs will be gone.
Two hundred fifteen jobs will go, and 685 students will be shut out because of budget cuts.
Those numbers, revealed Wednesday by UNLV President Neal Smatresk, are far below what was predicted weeks ago, before the governor and the Legislature came up with a deal that lessened budget cuts in higher education.
"In this budget, there is still very real pain, and there will still be people who lose their jobs," Smatresk told a packed town hall meeting at the university.
Smatresk said that the University of Nevada, Las Vegas -- including the dental and law schools -- will get an overall cut of just over $20 million in state funding next year compared with this year. That's about a 13 percent cut. That compares with what could have been a cut of more than $40 million if Gov. Brian Sandoval's original budget proposal had passed.
Sandoval and lawmakers brokered a deal earlier this month that extended some tax increases that were set to expire at the end of this month. The upshot for the state's higher education system is that proposed cuts were lessened by about $40 million in each of the next two years.
Overall, the state's higher education system will see a cut in state support of about $85 million, 15 percent.
With close to 500 people in attendance Wednesday, Smatresk said there will be some ways to lessen the impact of the $20 million in cuts UNLV must make.
A tuition increase of 13 percent will make up more than $3 million. Pay cuts and furloughs for tenured faculty will make up more than $2 million.
Overall, he said, he must cut about $15 million from the university's budget.
Part of that will be saved through a recent buyout program the university offered to tenured faculty. Smatresk said 48 people took the offer, which will save more than $6 million. Some rehiring in critical areas will need to be done, so the exact savings still is unclear.
