Chatham University professors concerned for future amid staff cuts

PITTSBURGH — Rising costs have one local university taking a hit.

“Shock. I mean we had been told for a couple years just very lightly there were some concerns about budget,” said Jennie Sweet-Cushman, who’s an Associate Professor at Chatham University.

But quickly those concerns turned into a reality.

“We have a hiring freeze, a payroll freeze, we are losing some benefits, and these are the kinds of things that can drive faculty away,” said Michael Collyer, who’s a Professor at Chatham.

Couple that with 20 staff positions already cut and there is concern for the future of the university.

“Eventually if the financial constraints mean loss of programs, then yeah it’s going to impact our ability to recruit students,” Collyer said.

The university is not saying just how much it is in debt, but rather telling Channel 11 it’s restructuring after a decline in graduate enrollment and rising costs.

The goal is to better align the expenses and revenue by $8-$12 million.

“The reorganization is focused on reducing costs, improving efficiency and operations, and ensuring the University continues to adapt to best serve the needs of students now and in the future,” said a spokesperson for Chatham University.

“It feels very victimizing when none of us feel we created the problem or were given the opportunity to help with the problem before it got so big. Then for it to be us that has to solve it through long-term sacrifice is hard to swallow,” Sweet-Cushman said.

The professors said they are cautiously optimistic but wish there were more face-to-face conversations. They’ve yet to meet the new university president behind the staff cuts and the board meetings where funding is slashed are closed.

Dr. Phillips had two in-person campus update meetings for all faculty and staff and is also meeting with faculty committees (had one today with the faculty university committee).

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