ATLANTA – Clark Atlanta University cut about 100 workers Friday, with officials at the historically Black college blaming slipping enrollment as cash-strapped students sit out the spring semester.
Spokeswoman Jennifer Jiles said 70 faculty members and up to 40 staff learned from supervisors that Friday would be their last work day. No more cuts are expected.
It was the first round of such layoffs since 2003, according to school spokesman Larry Calhoun.
Jiles insisted the 4,200-student-plus college – the largest of the United Negro College Fund institutions – was not in any financial distress.
“There is absolutely no financial emergency, and the university is not in a cash marginal institution,” Jiles told the Associated Press on Friday.
On campus, students expressed confusion over the sudden decision but trust in the administration.
