Fiscal Strains Force Xavier University to Cut Programs, Faculty

NEW ORLEANS

Campus damages, combined with fiscal uncertainty in the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina, have prompted Xavier University of Louisiana to
announce faculty and staff personnel reductions — as well as the
suspension of several programs — while the campus prepares to reopen on
January 17, 2006.

A majority of affected staff personnel have been placed on unpaid leave
with continued medical benefits until January 2006, at which time their
status will be re-evaluated. Faculty reduction decisions are based on
the university’s fiscal circumstances and assessment of its ongoing
needs for the future.

Undergraduate and College of Pharmacy courses will be offered at the
Xavier campus beginning in January, however Graduate School offerings
will be limited to online courses only.

Furthermore, the university has suspended conference participation in
all intercollegiate athletic programs until the Fall of 2006.

According to Calvin Tregre, senior vice president for administration,
the reductions were necessitated by the anticipated campus
reconstruction costs, combined with the loss of all tuition and
auxiliary revenues for the Fall 2005 semester — plus anticipated
financial aid needs in the form of scholarships for students returning
to the Xavier campus when the university re-opens. The fiscal impact of
those factors has been estimated at higher than $90 million.

Tregre says, “This is a devastating action for a close-knit community
such as Xavier, but the tremendous financial challenges we face
post-Katrina forced us to make difficult decisions.”

The personnel and program reductions will assist in stabilizing the
University’s fiscal condition for the 2005-06 academic year. Meanwhile,
a special “Xavier University Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund” has been
established to receive donations from private, nonprofit and corporate
donors to help restore the campus to its preeminence among US colleges
and universities.

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