Northern Arizona University President Rita Cheng has released details about how NAU will cope with budget shortfalls because of the coronavirus.
Enrollment is a major source of revenue for NAU, and it’s expected to drop up to 20 percent this fall as many students delay going to college in the midst of the pandemic.
Cheng says she and her executive team will take a 10% pay cut and salaries will also be reduced for senior administration. In addition, university-wide tiered pay cuts and furloughs are planned between 5% and 10%. Cheng says more specific information and timing will be released after the start of the next fiscal year July 1.
“While our enrollment picture is changing daily, it is clear we will have a smaller student population in the fall, as has been presented to our campus community through a number of reports and presentations,” wrote Cheng in an email sent to faculty and staff Friday.
NAU will also continue a hiring freeze and implement several other measures like a voluntary early retirement program and debt refinancing. According to Cheng, contracts will be issued to 95 percent of faculty for fall 2020.
In an email last month, Cheng said NAU could face losses between $30 million and $100 million dollars because of the coronavirus pandemic.
