Sam Gurwitt Photo
Quinnipiac’s Mount Carmel campus, just after classes were canceled for the remainder of the semester.
As businesses and organizations across the country cut back on staffing because of the economic havoc wrought by the Covid-19 virus, Quinnipiac University notified faculty and staff Monday afternoon that their salaries will take a hit from the virus.
“The far-reaching disruptions caused by Covid-19 have resulted in significant additional expenses for our university and lost revenues from programs that were canceled. In addition, the pandemic creates uncertainty in our future enrollment projections,” Quinnipiac President Judy Olian wrote in an email to faculty and staff Monday afternoon. “Accordingly, we are taking measured steps now to address our financial reality.”
Starting on April 1 and running through June 30, all university employees will receive temporary salary reductions. Employees earning $50,000 a year or less will receive a 3 percent reduction; everyone else will receive a 5 percent reduction. Olian wrote that she and other members of the management committee would take larger pay cuts.
Judy Olian.
The university will also eliminate merit increases on base salaries for the 2020 – 2021 academic year. Deans and unit heads have been asked to submit plans to adjust their budgets to include “only those expenditures that are mission critical for the remainder of the 2020 fiscal year.” The university will also slow investment in capital programs like large construction and campus improvement projects to save money.
“Let me be clear,” Olian wrote. “Quinnipiac can weather this crisis not just because of the collective power of our community, but also because of the long-term strength of our finances. However, because of the unprecedented magnitude of the impact, we will need to make budget cutbacks, and even sacrifices.”
“Any adjustments we need to make to budgets or services will be guided by our commitment to soften the human impacts on our students,” Associate Vice President for Public Relations John Morgan wrote in an email to the Independent.
“The university expects to be able to provide some level of refund for housing and meal plans for those graduating,” he wrote. “For students not yet graduating, the credit would be applied against next year’s costs. The university has been focused on the health and education of our students and has not yet resolved the financial impact of this crisis, and will provide further details in the coming weeks.”
Quinnipiac announced it would move classes online for the rest of the semester on March 10.