UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, OHIO -- John Carroll University officials today announced a series of proactive steps to restructure the institution’s operating budget as part of its strategic planning process and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“To support John Carroll’s strategic realignment, address the immediate challenges of COVID-19’s impact, and prepare for our long-term vision, we must undertake meaningful changes as an institution,” said Michael D. Johnson, Ph.D., president of John Carroll University. “By addressing our current financial pressures, we will ensure that our academic programs, student services, and Jesuit mission meet the changing needs of students and new economic realities of higher education. This will provide a strong foundation on which to build our strategic planning, and position us for investments in new programs and capabilities for the future.”
President Johnson outlined a plan to faculty and staff on Friday that includes $20 million in savings in two distinct areas: $5 million in temporary cost-containment measures for the upcoming fiscal year and $15 million in permanent changes to the University’s annual cost structure. The near-term savings will be achieved through a series of steps including the suspension of non-essential spending and travel, a hiring freeze, the prioritization of planned capital projects, and a graduated scale of temporary salary reductions for faculty and staff.
The long-term savings will focus on three areas: achieving non-personnel cost savings, and realigning the size of its staff and faculty. To achieve the savings in faculty and staff costs, John Carroll will begin to implement a workforce restructuring program that will include voluntary retirement and voluntary separation opportunities for eligible staff, and early and phased retirement programs for eligible faculty. The University anticipates the need for additional restructuring measures beyond the voluntary programs depending on the outcome of these programs.
“We are taking these actions to ensure John Carroll’s future in the most caring and compassionate way possible,” said President Johnson. “John Carroll will be a slightly smaller, but ultimately stronger institution when we emerge from this pandemic. In the face of change, we will continue to deliver the excellent John Carroll education and experience that our students expect and deserve.”
Earlier this month, President Johnson announced that John Carroll would follow the Flexible Hybrid (HyFlex) Learning model, which combines real-time, in-person classroom interaction with rich, on-demand, virtual faculty-developed content, when the fall semester begins on Aug. 31.