University of Nebraska campuses face $29 million in cuts following Gov. Pillen memo

The four University of Nebraska campuses are facing a combined $29 million in reductions following a memo from Gov. Jim PIllen for all state agencies to reduce funding by 5%. The Lincoln campus will take the largest cut at $13.9 million, according to an email from interim chancellor Katherine Ankerson.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center has the next largest reduction at $8.9 million, followed by the Omaha campus at $3.7 million and Kearney at $2.5 million.

Pillen announced through a memo last week that all state agencies would be required to reduce their budgets by 5%. It also included a hiring freeze on filling new and vacant positions, which did not apply to law enforcement or corrections positions.

Ankerson said UNL would defer investments in classroom, technology and infrastructure improvements to absorb the reduction. According to an FAQ page about the cuts, pay raises will still take effect for this academic year, with the university citing an important need to invest in employees.

“While we will meet this challenge, I am disappointed that I even have to share this message with you,” Ankerson said. “A reduction in spending of this size, arriving at the start of our fiscal year and on the heels of recent and painful reductions, is a serious setback. It is not a sustainable path for our university, nor for the health and vitality of our state.”

The Lincoln campus eliminated four departments this last school year as part of $27.5 million in budget cuts after the university system received a smaller-than-requested state appropriation. The decision faced backlash from campus members, with more than 100 speaking at the Board of Regents meeting ahead of the vote that cut the departments.

Ankerson and other university officials said the university is an important economic driver for the state.

“Every dollar the state invests in this university returns roughly ten dollars in economic and social value,” Ankerson said. “Continued disinvestment in our university erodes that engine at the very moment Nebraska most needs the talent, discovery, innovation and opportunity that a strong flagship university provides.”

In the days following the memo, NU President Gold shared a message with university staff, saying the governor’s ask amounted to more than $36 million in reductions across the NU system.

"We cannot cut our way to extraordinary, nor can we fully realize our mission of exceptional teaching, research and statewide engagement if we are operating in a constant cycle of cuts and related restrictions, without the ability to predict even a single year of stability," Gold said.

By way of full disclosure, members of the Nebraska Public Media newsroom are employees of UNL.