BATON ROUGE, La. – Upcoming university layoffs and academic program cuts loomed over last week’s Southern University National Alumni Conference in Baton Rouge.
New Southern Chancellor James Llorens, who has been on the job one week, said Thursday that declaring a state of financial emergency, called exigency, is a last-step resort, but it must remain on the table.
Tough decisions must be made in the next few weeks, Llorens said, as the university prepares to submit its budget with up to $8 million in new cuts because of declining enrollment numbers and the state’s performance-based funding formula.
For now, he is not releasing details.
“We have some challenging days ahead,” Llorens said during a “State of the University” address to hundreds of alumni.
“The circumstances are dictating that we have to evolve and make some changes, to preserve our history and protect the future,” Llorens said. “I believe we will succeed.”
Llorens also sent out a memo to faculty and staff warning of the potential, upcoming actions.
