The President of Northern Arizona University is responding to community pressure to divulge specific details of the university's budget plans after a slew of employees lost their jobs last week, some long-time employees who say they were blindsided by the move.
In a statement released Thursday night, President Rita Cheng said NAU is facing a potential budget shortfall of more than $100 million due to declining enrollment and the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Cheng said the university anticipates current employees will be furloughed between 5-15 days during the upcoming fiscal year, or a 5-10% pay cut, to be implemented in a tiered process based on employee salaries. Cheng and her executive team will also take a 10% salary reduction. In addition, previously approved sabbaticals are under review and no new applications for sabbaticals will be considered for the next year. A retirement incentive option is also under development with details expected to be released next week.
