Marquette University announces impending cuts after budget shortfall

Marquette University announced it’s planning for budget cuts. Although the specifics are unknown, the university plans to cut the annual operating budget by $31 million in six years.

This comes after the most recent University Faculty Committee for Budgets and Financial Planning report was presented to the University Academic Senate on March 14. The report detailed the consequences of a $9.5 million shortfall for the 2024 fiscal year, announced in December.

In the report obtained by WPR, contributing factors included a reduction in the operating budget’s contingency fund and income requirements, large building projects, lower targets for donor support and a decision not to take on new debt.

The report found the cuts have decreased student research opportunities and staffing positions which led faculty to take on increased advising and service roles.

In a letter to the campus community Monday, leaders said the report from the committee indicated a need for reallocation of resources.

“It is becoming clear that we need to be creative and proactive to protect Marquette’s long-term viability,” the letter said.  

The letter said the university is in a strong financial position, but the cost of tuition has gone up over the last decade along with inflation and the demand for financial aid. The university declined an interview with WPR.

Faculty worried about the future of academics

Members of the Marquette University’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors are frustrated by the findings of the budget report. They also argued decisions were not made in a shared governance approach.

Sonia Barnes, the group’s president, said the university needs to focus resources on academics, including filling faculty vacancies, not capital projects.

“The academic side of the university is already bare bones. Faculty are overworked. We are burned out,” Barnes said.

She says students are being met with tired teachers who have too much on their plate, hindering their education.

“We have less time to meet with students. We have less time to provide that individual attention that we really strive for,” Barnes said.

According to the university, approximately 75 percent of operating revenue comes from tuition and room and board. Approximately 90 percent of students receive financial aid. The university’s expenses have increased, on average, over the last decade, according to the university’s tax filings.

Next steps

The goal of the multiyear plan is to permanently reduce the annual operating budget by evaluating programs, buildings and spaces and “the way we do our work,” according to the letter.

The gradual spending cuts will start with a 2.5 percent, or $11 million, cut in fiscal year 2026, which starts in July 2025. By Fiscal year 2031, the goal is to reduce the budget by a cumulative 7 percent, or $31 million.

The plan is to reinvest a portion of savings into funding the priorities outlined in Marquette’s 2031 strategic plan.  

Jill Guttormson, dean of the College of Nursing, and Ralph Weber, acting general counsel, will create a steering committee to evaluate next steps. The team plans to gather input from each college and other campus stakeholders, and present recommendations on ways to cut spending to the Board of Trustees by the end of the year.

“Change is never easy, but we are confident that if we work collaboratively in a spirit of shared governance and mutual grace, we will emerge from this process a stronger university for the long term,” the letter said.  

Barnes said shared governance is an illusion at Marquette and she doesn’t know where the committee will find room to make cuts.

“It becomes very, very difficult to fulfill the mission of the university when there’s just constant budget cuts, constantly telling us that we cannot just grow, but just maintain the number of faculty that we had,” Barnes said.